The Game of Love
by Tinkerbell79
Summary: The future of the wizarding world rests with James Potter and Lily Evan's future son. But, what if they never fall in love? This is a risk that Dumbledore is not prepared to take. He is the matchmaker, playing a game in which love is the ultimate prize.
1. Nudging

Headmaster Dumbledore sat at the staff table munching toast with raspberry jam, his favorite. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that he was merely observing the students as they ate, but if anyone paid him extra attention, they would have realized that he was actually focused on two students in particular. He watched as the black haired boy approached the redheaded girl and Dumbledore drew in his breath. Maybe this time would yield results. Obviously, from this distance, he couldn't hear the conversation but he watched in anticipation, nonetheless. Alas, this time was no different than any of the times before. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Lily's hand drew back and slapped James across the face. The boy had no finesse when it came to the object of his affection.

Why his interest? Well, that took a bit of explaining. These were troubled times the wizarding world was living in. Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, as he liked to call himself now, was becoming more powerful and gaining more followers constantly. Dumbledore was consulting every branch of magic available, searching for ways to eliminate Tom Riddle and ensure the survival of the wizarding world that currently existed. Admittedly, Divination was the least precise branch of magic but Dumbledore was consulting it as well. Centaurs were the unrivaled masters of Divination and he had forged a partnership with one to gain answers to his questions. Pierce, his Centaur alliance, had recently outlined to Dumbledore all he could see in the future in regard to the war that Riddle was waging. Naturally, there was more than one way that the future could unfold but one of those paths was ideal. The key to that path, as told by Pierce, was the future son of Lily Evans and James Potter. Pierce had warned that, as things currently stood, that path was least likely to occur. Unless a little bit of nudging took place.

At first, he'd struggled with the idea of meddling in the lives of two of his students, especially in their love lives. Everyone had the right to love or loathe whomever he or she chose. He didn't want his interference to bring together two people who perhaps weren't meant to be together. However, as he observed both the students in question, he came to realize that both truly did love one another; they just hadn't realized it yet. James had harbored a crush on Lily since he'd first laid eyes on her in their first year. His pursuit of her was an obsession, but whether he realized it or not, the driving force of that obsession was his love for her. Lily, on the other hand, was in complete denial. While her hatred of James had perhaps been warranted during their first three years as classmates, her feelings had slowly begun to change. It had become harder and harder to hate someone who could love her so unconditionally. She had done some terrible things to him over the years in retaliation for the immature and embarrassing pranks James had played on her to try and earn her attentions; and yet he still loved her. Her own sister couldn't love her as unconditionally as James seemed to and that was becoming very hard to ignore.

Dumbledore had been studying the two students relentlessly and was preparing to implement some of his plans to nudge them into realizing their feelings for one another. He had several plans up his sleeves and was just wondering if involving friends of the two students to help execute the schemes was a good idea.

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Lily's morning already left a lot to be desired. Why couldn't Potter leave her alone for one single day? She hadn't even finished her breakfast today before he was harassing her to go out on a date with him. She didn't understand how he could take so much rejection. But as long as he kept asking her out, she was just going to keep dishing it up. She was starting to suspect that his determination had more to do with his inability to deal with failure than his actual feelings for her. It simply was not possible that he could like her that much. Right?

"Li-ly," Alice called in a singsong tone. "Where have you gone?"

"What?" Lily asked.

"You were so deep in thought that you didn't even notice me talking to you," Alice accused.

"Sorry," Lily said. "What were you saying?"

"It wasn't important," Alice said. "I'm more interested in what you are so busy thinking about."

"Nothing worth mentioning," Lily replied.

"James?" Alice asked with a smirk.

"Why would you even assume that?" Lily asked heatedly.

"You clammed up right after he asked you out. So, naturally, I have to assume that's what you are dwelling on," Alice said.

Confirming that Alice was indeed correct, Lily said, "I just don't understand how he can keep trying after I've turned him down so many times. I mean, even his enormous ego has to have a limit."

"Maybe I'm right and he really does like you that much," Alice said, "maybe you're irresistible to him, for some reason."

"Thanks, Alice," Lily said sarcastically.

"I'm not saying that I find it to be impossible for you to be irresistible to him; I just don't know exactly what his reasons are. Maybe he loves your temper or the way you slap him when he asks you out in a particularly insulting manner. Maybe he has a weakness for redheads. Who knows?" Alice said.

"I still maintain that we mutually loathe one another and his favorite way to torture me is to ask me out incessantly simply because he knows that it annoys me," Lily said. "In fact, I find it so obnoxious that I sometimes wish he'd go back to the immature pranks he used to play on me when we were younger."

"Wake up and smell the pumpkin juice, Lily," Alice chided. "James likes you. He always has and he always will. No amount of rejection from you is going to discourage him. Those pranks he played when we were younger, were just his childish way of trying to win your attention. He does the same thing now except he asks you out instead of turning your hair purple."

"So what you're saying is that there is no way I'm ever going to get Potter off my case?" Lily asked.

"I doubt you being engaged to another boy would get James off your case. Actually that might make him up his game. Maybe if you married someone else, he'd finally get the hint," Alice mused.

Lily groaned as they walked into the charms classroom and took their usual seats next to one another. When the bell rang and Professor Flitwick bustled into the classroom, the class became quiet. "We are going to try something new today. Rather than everyone working with their best mates, we are going to partner up so that people of equal skill level are paired up. People that struggle with this subject a little bit more will have to work together to figure things out and people that excel at this subject can spur each other to greater heights."

Lily and Alice exchanged a worried glance; they liked working together, what if they got paired up with someone horrible? The first pair of names Flitwick read off his list were Alice and Peter. Peter wasn't horrible, but he wasn't wonderful either. The crease that appeared between Alice's brows told Lily that she was less than thrilled. Lily listened for her name and tried to keep track of which names had already been called. When it got down to the final four names, which included both herself and Potter, she began to panic. She couldn't be paired up with Potter, she just couldn't. She wondered if Flitwick would put her with someone else if she asked. "Lily and James," Flitwick finally said and Lily's stomach dropped. "Now that everyone is paired up let me say two things; first, no, I will not let you change partners. I don't care if you are sworn enemies or if he or she is your ex. You are stuck. Second, this is your partner for the rest of the school year."

Lily's spirit sank as she watched Potter make his way over to her table and flop into the chair Alice had just vacated. She was stuck with him for the rest of the bloody school year and it was only March. As she continued to think about how unfair the entire situation was, she could practically feel her blood pressure rising. It was one thing to have to try get along with Potter, to endure working with him in class; but she knew how relaxed he was about his studies. If her grades suffered because she'd been partnered with him, she would hex him.

"Alright, Evans?" Potter asked calmly from beside her.

"Yeah, great," She practically growled at him.

"That doesn't sound very convincing," Potter replied innocently.

"It wasn't meant to," Lily hissed.

"I take it you aren't overjoyed at the prospect of working with me," Potter said.

"What was your first clue?" Lily asked sarcastically.

"The way your face fell when Flitwick read off our names," he said almost sadly. "I, on the other hand, can't think of anyone with whom I'd rather work."

Lily rolled her eyes dramatically before saying, "I can't think of a single reason why you'd want to work with me. You know I can't stand you."

"Evans, you don't really hate me," Potter said cockily, "You just haven't realized yet how charming and irresistible I am."

"You are so full of yourself, I'm surprised you have space in there for organs and blood," Lily said. "Not in a million years would I find you charming or irresistible."

"James and Lily, is there anything you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Flitwick asked. When they silently shook their head no, he continued, "Then I suggest you stop visiting and pay attention to the lesson."

Lily focused her attention on Professor Flitwick and taking notes on what he was teaching them. James, on the other hand, was studying her; she could feel his eyes on her. It was unsettling. "What?" she finally hissed under her breath.

"I'm sorry?" James asked, distractedly.

"Well, I assume there is a reason you are sitting there staring at me instead of taking notes," Lily explained.

James flushed attractively before ruffling his already messy hair and leaning closer to her before whispering, "It's just that I don't typically get to sit this close to you for this long; you are so beautiful."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and said, "Like I'm going to believe that."

"You should," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear and his alluring boy scent wafting over her. "I've thought so for years."

"Mr. Potter and Miss Evans," Professor Flitwick said sternly. "Detention, my classroom tonight at seven. If you'd like to try make it a double, then, by all means, keep talking."

The fact that she had earned her first detention ever, and with Potter as her partner in crime, didn't register at first. The only thing Lily was consciously aware of, was the sudden distance between herself and Potter and how much that disappointed her. As she came back to herself, she could see Sirius smirking broadly at Potter from across the classroom and her anger flared. Her first detention, ever! She was a _prefect _for Merlin's sake! _"Potter is going to pay dearly for this,"_ she thought.

For the rest of the lesson, Lily only spoke to James if what she had to say related in some way to the lesson. James seemed contrite; at the very least, he seemed to be trying to ensure that he wouldn't land them in further trouble with Flitwick. She was glad for that but it annoyed her to see the happy sparkle in his eyes.

"Alice, stop laughing," Lily demanded. "It isn't funny!"

"I beg to differ," Alice chortled. "Who knew getting assigned new partners in Charms would be so entertaining?"

In a vain attempt to take the focus off herself, Lily asked, "How was working with Peter?"

"Fine, boring," Alice said. "I want to hear more about you and James. Did he confundus you or something? You looked a little dazed the second time Flitwick stopped class to yell at you two."

Lily gritted her teeth, she could feel a headache coming on. Soon enough, she and Alice were settling into their seats in Potions.

"We're going to try something new today," Professor Slughorn said as he waddled to the front of the room. Lily felt like she was having a horrible case of déjà vu.

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By the time classes had ended for the day, Lily found herself newly partnered with James in every single one of them. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn that someone was playing a particularly heinous prank on her. She was more thankful than ever that he was not in all of the same classes as her.

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When the last of his staff entered the staff room, Dumbledore addressed them. "Did everyone carry out the tasks I assigned to you today in regard to Mr. Potter and Miss Evans?"

"Yes, of course," Professor Slughorn replied, "but can you explain to us what this is all about?"

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said. "Its a delicate matter and, while at first glance it may seem trivial, let me assure you that there is a lot riding on it. I just ask that you trust me and follow any instructions I have for you." He looked around the room and received nods from his staff. "Now, did any of you manage to give them detention today?"

"I did," Professor Flitwick said. "They left me little choice; they wouldn't stop talking and listen to the lesson."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "You have my instructions for that as well?"

"Yes," Flitwick confirmed.

"Very well, everyone is dismissed then," Dumbledore said as he rose from his seat and left the room.

The professors looked at each other in confusion. This was by far one of the strangest things Dumbledore had ever requested of them. His exact instructions had been, _"Find every possible opportunity to throw James Potter and Lily Evans together." _Obviously he had some knowledge that they didn't. There had to be a good reason for these plans, even if he wasn't sharing it with them at the moment. As the professors departed for their own offices, they contemplated what those reasons could possibly be; not one considered for even a moment that the desired outcome of this strange experiment was love.

**Author's Note:** A million thank yous to my rocking beta Terra Ferme, who not only weeded my silly mistakes out of this chapter but also came up with the perfect title and asked all the right questions to get my mind churning on the next several chapters! You are awesome!!!

I have been completely obsessed with James and Lily stories lately and decided to try one of my own when this idea kept popping into my mind. Thanks for reading and let me know if I should continue. I am putting the rating of this story at M for future chapters. Let me know if you have any brilliant suggestions for how Dumbledore can throw James and Lily together.

Thanks, Tinkerbell.


	2. Detention

"_Today had been almost perfect,"_ James thought to himself as he lay sprawled across his four-poster, grinning up at the ceiling. The only way it would've been completely perfect was if Lily had finally agreed to go out on a date with him. But, getting partnered up with her in every class today and landing in detention with her for this evening might help him get there. If he could spend more time with her, he might be able to relax and she'd finally see the real James, and not the Prat-James who came out every time Lily was near him. There was something about her that made his head spin. When she was near, he couldn't think straight and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, which never was the right thing to say. It was embarrassing. This morning at breakfast had been a prime example.

"_Evans," James called as he walked up the aisle to where she was sitting with her friends._

"_Potter," Lily responded in an annoyed tone._

"_Evans, will you go on the next Hogsmeade trip with me?" he asked as he purposefully rumpled his hair._

"_No," Lily said. "Just like I said yesterday when you asked me, why would I have changed my mind today?"_

"_I dreamt about you last night," he said. "In my dream, you said yes to me over and over. I thought I'd see if it carried over to real life."_

_He'd been shocked when she slapped him across the face and stormed out of the Great Hall. When he'd asked Remus what had gone wrong, Remus sighed and said, "Think back over what you just said to her and see if you can't figure out why it might sound offensive to her. Your problem, Prongs, is that you don't use your brain when you talk to Lily and you land yourself in trouble."_

"_She just makes me so jumpy and stupid things come out of my mouth," James said miserably._

"_Clearly," Sirius said with a delighted snort of laughter._

_James rubbed his stinging cheek while he thought over their conversation. As the moment he'd gone wrong became clear to him, his face fell comically and he said, "Merlin, no wonder she thinks I'm such a git. She thinks I had a sex dream about her."_

"_Didn't you?" Peter asked with a smirk._

"_No," James said. "I mean, I have of course, but last night I kept dreaming of asking her out and she said yes every time. I should have phrased that more carefully."_

"_It didn't help matters that half the Gryffindor table heard what you said, she's embarrassed," Remus said._

"What are you so happy about?" Sirius asked as he entered their dorm room and caught sight of James' expression.

"I have detention tonight," James replied happily.

"But you don't have the rest of us with you," Sirius said. "What bloke, in his right mind, would be happy about detention without his best friends?"

"He has detention with Lily," Remus reminded Sirius as he came in behind him.

"Oh, right," Sirius said. "What are you plans to woo her tonight?"

"I think maybe James should dispose with the wooing and just try to be her friend first." Sirius scoffed and Remus turned to speak directly to James. "If she could see that you really are a great guy, there is a better chance that she could fall for you. Right now, she only sees you as the idiot who embarrasses her by asking her out several times a week," he reasoned.

"But, how do I do that?" James asked. "You know how I get around her."

"When you are with her tonight, don't think of her as the girl with whom you are in love. Think of her as one of your friends. Act like you would around us; not the bumbling idiot you usually turn into around her," Remus explained.

"I think I can do that," James said.

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After dinner with The Marauders, James slowly made his way to the Charms classroom. As he walked, he tried to remember all the advice Remus had given him and safe topics of conversation he could engage Lily in that would keep his inner prat at bay. When he entered the classroom at one minute to seven, Lily was already there, seated at a table in front of Flitwick's desk.

"Mr. Potter, please take the seat beside Miss Evans," Flitwick directed. James gave Lily a quick nod as he settled into the seat next to her, trying not to let her see how thrilled he was to see her. "Your punishment tonight is two-fold. First, you will be writing lines for me, then, second, without magic, you will clean my classroom. Please give me your wands and get started."

Flitwick let the room with the wands. James dipped his quill in ink and began to write, _"I will not socialize during Professor Flitwick's lesson, I will not socialize during Professor Flitwick's lesson…" _He could hear Lily's quill scratching across her own parchment. He flicked his eyes toward her hoping to catch a glimpse of her biting her bottom lip like she sometimes did while she worked. Unfortunately, her thick sheet of red hair was acting as a curtain between them, hiding her face from him. He inhaled the scent that was uniquely Lily before sighing and going back to work.

After a half hour of writing, when he noticed Lily flexing her stiff fingers, James pulled two chocolate frogs out of his pocket and slid one across the table to Lily. She set her quill down on the desk and picked up the frog. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Evans, I owe you an apology," James said. "Well, two actually." She shifted in her seat so she was facing him and looked him in the eye, clearly trying to gauge whether or not he was being sincere. When she did not turn away again, he said, "What I said this morning when I asked you out, was unintentional. I'm sorry if I offended or embarrassed you."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Lily said, "but, now I'm curious. What did you mean to say?"

Flushing, James replied, "Last night I dreamt about asking you out and, in my dream, you said yes every time."

"I'm sorry I slapped you," Lily said.

"No you aren't," James grinned.

"You're right," Lily agreed with a grin of her own. "Actually, I rather enjoyed it."

"I'm also sorry for causing us to end up in detention," James said.

"That's just as much my fault as it is yours," Lily said. "I could have just ignored you."

"No you couldn't," James said. "You can't resist fighting with me."

"True. But if you didn't antagonize me the way you do, I wouldn't feel the need to always fight back," Lily said.

"You know I only give you a hard time because I like you," James said as he nervously ran his hands through his hair.

"But you've been picking on me since the first day of first year," Lily pointed out.

"Well, that's because I liked you since the moment I first laid eyes on you," James said.

Clearly taken back by his admission, Lily said, "Maybe we should get back to work."

"At least eat your frog first," James said as he ripped open his own.

Lily ripped hers open too and popped the frog into her mouth whole. She closed her eyes and sighed as she bit into the creamy chocolate. James' stomach swooped; how did she do that to him with the simplest gestures? Before his mouth got away from him and ruined the progress he'd made with Lily tonight, he turned back to his lines.

"What card did you get?" Lily asked. "I got Flamel again. I have three of him, do you want it?"

James had six of Flamel but he would take anything Lily offered him. "I got Morgana, do you want it?"

"I have that one too, you keep it," Lily said before turning back to her work.

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Lily was confused. This friendly, polite James beside her, was not what she was used to. He made it difficult for her to continue hating him when he acted this way. _"Would that be so bad?"_ the voice in her head asked. If he was like this all the time, she could see being friends with him, but this was _James_. Tomorrow, he'd ask her out again in some embarrassing way and start working on new pranks with which to annoy her. This was just a momentary truce because his conscience had woken from its coma.

"_I will not socialize during Professor Flitwick's lesson, I will not socialize during Professor Flitwick's lesson…," _Lily wrote_. _She was almost half way done. _"I will not socialize during Professor Flitwick's lesson, I will not socialize during Professor Flitwick's lesson…"_

"_I can't believe he apologized,"_ Lily thought to herself. _"How unlike him."_

"How many have you done?" Lily asked as she leaned toward James to look at his parchment. As she did, the intoxicating boy smell filled her nose again and made her heart beat unevenly. Her eyes widened as his beautiful hazel eyes connected with her green ones. She looked into their depths like she had never done before and was surprised at the warmth, kindness, and love she saw within them. With some effort, she pulled her gaze away and tried to shake off the effect he was having on her.

"About 200," James said. "How about you?"

"How'd you get to 200 so fast? I think I only have about 150," Lily said.

James glanced at her parchment and said, "You're writing too neatly; the trick to getting lines done quickly, is to be a slob about it."

"You should have told me that up front," Lily whined. "I can't start writing sloppy half way through."

"Sorry, Evans," James said. "I thought everyone knew that trick."

Quietly, Lily replied, "Those of us who've never been in detention before wouldn't know."

"Merlin, Lily," James breathed. "I'm sorry, I had no idea this was the first time. Now I feel even worse that I landed you here."

"Didn't I already tell you that this isn't entirely your fault?" Lily asked.

"Yes. But I get detention all the time so this is no big deal for me," he said. "I promise I will try not to get us into trouble again."

"Thanks," Lily said with a smile. As she returned to her lines, she could feel his eyes on her and she found that she didn't mind as much as she usually did. If he could be this James all the time, maybe they could even be friends.

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When both had finished all their lines, they placed their parchments on Professor Flitwick's desk and prepared to start cleaning the classroom. Flitwick had left them several buckets of water and muggle cleaning implements. Lily grabbed a bucket and a sponge and got to work scrubbing down all the desks. James grabbed another bucket and sponge and started on the chalkboard. As Lily worked her way around the classroom, she admired the way James' muscles rippled as he worked on the chalkboard with his back to her. Obviously Quidditch had a hand in sculpting his muscular physique. As she realized again that she was thinking about James in a way she had never considered him before, she was surprised.

When James finished the chalkboard, he turned toward Lily to ask whether she wanted to dust or mop and found himself watching the hem of her skirt rise and fall against the backs of her thighs as she leaned over to scrub the last desk. His mind fogged as he watched her. Why did she have to be so beautiful? When she finished with the desk, she spun around and caught him staring. Rather than narrowing her eyes or yelling at him, like she normally would, she surprised him by blushing and giving him a soft smile.

"Er," James said, flustered, "do you want to dust or mop?"

"Dust," Lily said and picked up a feather duster.

As she moved around the room, dusting whatever she could, James struggled with the mop. _"How do muggles bear cleaning without magic?"_ he thought. Just as he'd figured it out, he knocked the mop into the bucket and sent a cascade of water across the classroom. Lily was perched on Flitwick's desk dusting the frames of the pictures that hung on the wall behind it. She didn't notice James spill the water as she worked. He worked quickly to return most of the water to the bucket with the mop but it left the stone floor slick and slippery. When she finished the frames, she carefully crouched before hopping off the desk. Her foot slid on the wet floor and she felt herself falling.

"Whoa," James said as his hands closed around her waist and he steadied her. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck and she found herself pressed close to his chest. "I should have warned you that I spilled the bucket of mop water. Sorry."

Slightly breathless, she said, "Well, you caught me before I could get hurt, so no harm done." He didn't remove his hands from her waist and she didn't remove her arms from his neck. For several long moments, they just looked into each other's eyes.

"How's it going in here?" Professor Flitwick asked as he suddenly entered the classroom.

Startled, and rather relunctantly, James and Lily separated. James awkwardly cleared his throat while Lily straightened her skirt.

"Looks like you two did a great job! You are free to go," Flitwick said as he returned their wands to them. "Please, try to remember not to talk during my class in the future."

"We won't," they said in unison. Together, they moved toward the door. James pulled it open and said, "After you."

They walked back to Gryffindor Tower together, neither speaking, but instead thinking over the interesting evening they had just spent together in detention. As they approached the portrait hole, James said, "Evans, let me apologize to you, one more time, for everything."

"It's Lily," Lily said. "Maybe we could try being friends, I mean, it'll make things much more bearable since we're partnered up in every class now."

"I'd like that, Lily," James said. "Of course, I'd like it even better if you'd agree to give me a chance and go out with me, but I'll take what I can get."

Lily chuckled and said, "You just had to go there, didn't you?"

"I had to try," James replied. He held out his hand to her and said, "Friends?"

"Friends," she agreed as she took his hand. He tightened his grip and pulled her toward him and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Potter!" she yelled in protest. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," James said. "I got carried away."

"Well, try not to let it happen again," Lily said.

Once inside the common room, they separated and headed toward their respective staircases. "Goodnight, Lily," James called.

"Goodnight, James," she replied quickly. When she closed her dorm room door behind her and sank onto her bed, she realized how much trouble she was in. James Potter had kissed her and, while she pretended to be outraged, she wasn't, not even a little bit. There was a big part of her that wished he'd dared to kiss her on the lips instead of just the cheek. She sighed as she remembered the feeling of being wrapped in his arms; she was in so much trouble.

**Author's Note: **Thank yous are in order for my awesome beta Terra Ferme for taking the time to edit my story. You are amazing and I'm not sure how I got such an excellent beta!!

Thanks for reading. I'm not hearing much of a response on this story. I'm not giving up quite yet, but if you are enjoying it or have suggestions for me, let me know. Thanks!


	3. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The next morning, Dumbledore munched toast anxiously as he watched for James and Lily to enter the Great Hall. The report he'd gotten from Professor Flitwick had been positive; he hoped that meant some progress had been made. Even if Lily wasn't yet falling in love with James, he hoped that they were fast becoming friends. Sometimes, the most successful romances sprang from a foundation of friendship.

When Lily entered the Hall with her friends, he studied her appearance but couldn't detect that anything had changed. He watched the girls sit and pile food onto their plates. Alice seemed to be teasing Lily about something but at this distance, he couldn't make out what it was. Lily kept blushing and shaking her head no. Perhaps Alice was trying to get some details out of Lily about her detention the night before.

Ten minutes later, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, The Marauders, entered the Great Hall and, with James in the lead, settled into the empty seats beside Lily and her friends. Dumbledore watched expectantly to see what would happen.

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Lily didn't feel like herself this morning and James Potter was to blame. Suddenly, she found that she longed for his friendship and possibly something more, when normally she avoided him like the plague. She'd spent an extra ten minutes trying to get her hair just right and when Alice offered her mascara and lip gloss, she'd gratefully accepted, leaving Alice speechless. All the way down to the Great Hall, Alice had pestered her for details from her detention last night with James. Lily told Alice that they'd had to write lines and clean the classroom without magic but Alice had insisted that Lily knew perfectly well that those weren't the kind of details for which she was looking. She continued to hound her until James and his mates settled into the seats beside them.

"Good-morning, Lily," James said sweetly leaning toward her from the seat directly beside hers. "Mind if we sit by you?"

"Morning, James," Lily replied with a slight blush. "Sure, you can sit by us."

From the corner of her eye, Lily noticed Sirius and Remus exchange incredulous glances; clearly they were just as surprised as she was at the changes taking place. Lily waited for James to spoil it all by asking her out like he did most mornings but, to her surprise, he didn't.

When their first class was due to start in ten minutes, they gathered their bags and rose from the table. "Lily, can I walk you to class?" James asked.

"That would be nice," Lily said hesitantly. As they walked toward the greenhouses for Herbology, she waited for him to do something inappropriate that would make her regret their new found friendship, but he was being the perfect gentleman.

When they reached the greenhouses, James sat next to Lily at her table instead of next to Sirius as he usually did. "What are you doing?" Lily asked.

"I'm being proactive," James said. "We got partnered up in every class yesterday. Aren't you expecting it to continue today?"

"I suppose," Lily said as she looked sadly at Alice.

"If you'd prefer, I can go sit with Sirius like I usually do, but you know I'll be back," James said.

"No, it's fine," Lily said, patting his arm. "You can stay."

At her touch, his eyes flew to hers and she couldn't miss the absolute elation that danced across his features. "Thanks Lily," he said happily.

On the other side of the table, Alice caught her eye and smirked broadly. She could also see Sirius, Remus, and Peter openly studying them. Lily was thankful when young Professor Sprout bustled into the room and said, "We are going to try something new today."

Beside her, James leaned close enough to whisper, nearly in unison with Professor Sprout, "Rather than all of you working with your best mates, I'm going to pair you up according to skill level." It was almost word for word what they'd heard in each of their classes yesterday. Lily giggled and earned herself a reproachful look from Professor Sprout. Their classmates were paired up around them and, again, their names were read off together at the end of the list.

"See, told you," James said with a grin.

"Do you really think we're at equal skill levels in every class or is this some elaborate prank to push us together?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," James said. "But whatever it is, I'm not complaining."

Lily blushed again before turning to listen to Professor Sprout's lecture properly.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

After Herbology, Lily and Alice went off to Arithmancy while The Marauders returned to the common room for their free period. James collapsed into one of the armchairs by the fire as he let his bag fall to the floor. A contented grin spread across his face and he sighed.

"Alright," Sirius said as he sank into the other armchair, "what kind of spell did you use on her?"

"Yes, James, do tell," Remus added as he settled onto the sofa with Peter.

"No spells," James replied. "Why do you lot find it so hard to believe that I might have finally won her over? I thought you were supposed to be my friends."

"Hmmm," Sirius said as he rubbed his chin. "Wasn't it just yesterday that she slapped you when you asked her out?"

"Yes," James admitted, "but…"

"But nothing, Prongs," Remus said. "We've seen the way Lily has reacted to your advances for six long years. How can you expect us to believe that things have changed so drastically, in just one day, without the benefit of magic?"

"Because," James began proudly, "I finally took your advice Moony. I was just James, not Prat-James."

"What does that mean exactly?" Remus asked.

"You know, I wasn't the bumbling idiot I usually regress to in her presence. I took your advice and treated her like a friend and not like the girl I love," James explained.

"And that actually worked?" Remus asked.

"It was your advice, Moony. Shouldn't you be less surprised that it worked?" James asked.

"Based on the level of hatred that Lily reserved for you alone, I didn't think anything was going to do the trick," Remus explained.

James reached across and punched Remus in the shoulder playfully before adding, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"So, really," Sirius asked, "no spells?"

"None," James said with a happy smile.

"Good for you Prongs," Peter said, who, until now, had just observed the conversation.

"Thanks," James said. "At least one of you has faith in me."

"It's not that we don't have faith in you," Sirius said, "It's all just happening so fast."

"Yeah," Remus jumped in. "Yesterday, she slapped you across the face and was furious every time the two of you got paired up in class. Today, she's touching your arm and blushing at half the things you say. It's just confusing."

"Not to mention that suddenly you're calling each other Lily and James," Sirius added.

"Those are our names," James pointed out.

"Yes, but you've always been Potter and Evans to one another," Peter said.

"Not anymore," James said.

"So what exactly happened at this detention last night?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"We had to write lines, I gave her a chocolate frog, I apologized to her for both landing us in detention and the insulting way I asked her out yesterday, we had to clean the Charms classroom without magic, I spilled a bucket of water on the floor and caught her when she slipped in it," James said. "I walked her back to the dorm, we decided we'd try being friends, I asked her out and kissed her on the cheek."

Remus shook his head and said, "You were doing so well until you asked her out and kissed her."

"Did she slap you again?" Peter asked.

"No," James said. "She acted like it made her angry, but I'm not sure it really did."

"I'm not sure it did either," Remus said, "based on how she is acting around you today."

"Which is how exactly?" James asked.

"Like you've finally succeeded in charming her," Remus said with a grin.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

After Arithmancy, they had Transfiguration. When Lily and Alice arrived at the classroom, it was to find Professor McGonagall waiting outside for them. "As you both have probably figured out, we are implementing a new seating arrangement today. Alice, you are with Mr. Longbottom; Lily, with Mr. Potter."

Lily made her way into the classroom and smiled to herself when she saw James, standing at the door, waiting for her. When you got past his immature, egotistical, womanizing, and sometimes cruel tendencies, he could actually be rather sweet. She admired his dark sweep of hair and the easy way he was chatting with Remus who was sitting at the closest desk to the door. She grinned as she walked up to James.

"Ready to go?" she asked as she tapped James on the shoulder.

"Sure," said James as he stopped his conversation with Remus and turned toward her.

She exclaimed, "Hey!" as he grabbed her books from her arms and frowned as she followed James up the aisle to their desk. She was more than capable of carrying her own books after all.

James turned back to grin cheekily back at her and missed seeing the foot that suddenly impeded his path as he walked backwards. It happened so quickly, and she was walking too close to James as she tried to get her books back from him before they got to their seat, that she tripped over him as he fell.

As she picked herself up off the floor, she turned to see a look of horror on Severus' face as he looked down at her.

"What was that for?" she cried, but she knew perfectly well what it was about. Severus Snape had always been after James and Sirius, ever since their first year. She could understand it if he sneered at James but she couldn't fathom why he looked horrified at her. It'd been nearly a year ago that she'd last spoken to him. The second to last time she'd talked to him, he'd called her a mudblood after she'd tried to help him escape from James' and Sirius' taunts after their OWLs. She'd made it perfectly clear, after that particular incident, that she had no interest in ever talking to him again. _"Why is he looking terrified at me?" _she wondered.

"You okay, Lily?" James asked as he picked himself up off the floor. He reached down and offered his hand to her. She grabbed his hand and let him help her into her seat. He picked their books up off the floor and turned back to Severus and said, "Do that again and you're dead, Snivellus."

Severus wiped the look off his face and changed it into a smirk. "And I thought that all _good_ Quidditch chasers were quick with their reflexes," he sneered.

"Shove off, Snivellus," James said as he turned back to his overturned seat. After he righted his seat, he sat down beside Lily and asked again, "Are you okay?"

Lily nodded and willed herself not to cry. She felt a slight pain in her left knee. More than that though, it still stung that someone she had been so close with could treat her like Snape did. They had met when they were kids, long before Hogwarts and, even then, he could see the magic in her. At Hogwarts, they had been sorted into different houses and, over the years, had tried to stay friends. But after he had called her a mudblood, she refused to speak with him again. She'd only spoken to him once after the incident and, then, she broke off their friendship completely.

Lily lowered her face as she felt a tear slip down her cheek. She didn't want James, or anyone, but especially not James, to see her cry. He brushed the tear away lightly with his finger and whispered, "You can cry, Lily. There's no shame in it."

Angrily, Lily snapped, "I'm _not _crying! Hands off, Potter!"

Stung, he said softy, "I'm sorry. You're okay though, right?"

"Fine," she said more calmly. She brushed her hand over her knee and winced. It came away sticky with blood. Pushing back from her desk, she straightened the leg in front of her, pulled up her robe, and gasped a little at the sight. There was a long sliver of jagged wood sticking out of her skin just above her kneecap. Blood was dripping off the end of it at an alarming rate. Her stocking was already badly stained where the blood had dripped down and pooled.

"We need to get you to Madame Pomfrey," James said. Without pausing to let her respond, he rose from his chair and scooped her out of hers. He rushed out to the corridor where McGonagall was still greeting the last few students trickling in to class.

"Professor, Snape tripped me on purpose and Lily was walking to close to avoid me and went down too. She needs to go to the hospital wing immediately," James explained. Lily raised her robes again to reveal her injury.

"Oh my," McGonagall said. "Yes, go ahead. Thank you, James."

Lily marveled at how easily James was rushing toward the hospital wing with her in his arms. To help support herself, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. The pain, starting to throb through her knee, was easy to ignore when she was this close to him. The scent she'd come to associate with him washed over her and she inhaled deeply. She studied his hazel eyes behind his glasses and admired his perfect mouth. Merlin, how had she never noticed before how beautiful he was?

"You're looking a little dazed, Lily, you okay?" James asked. "We're almost there."

"I'm fine," Lily said, blushing a little at being caught staring.

When they arrived at the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey directed James toward a bed to set Lily down on. He stood beside her for a moment unsure if he should stay or head back to class. He hadn't been hurt, after all, when he fell. His Quidditch training had helped him to avoid serious injuries before, and, he assumed, had helped him today. He figured Lily had hit her knee on his chair as she fell. That explained her injury and why his seat had tipped over too. Madame Pomfrey returned with an armful of supplies and, as she got to work, Lily held out a hand to James and requested, "Hold my hand?"

"Of course," James said happily as he twined his fingers with hers. His heart felt near to bursting, Lily Evans had willingly asked him to hold her hand. He didn't understand what was causing all the recent changes in their relationship but he had never been happier.

Madame Pomfrey carefully used her wand to vanish the wood from Lily's knee before applying a variety of potions, which cleaned the wound and healed the skin. Lily only winced and squeezed James' hand harder when the potion to clean the wound bubbled and fizzed inside the wound. Once the wound was healed, Madame Pomfrey scourgified all the blood from her leg and stocking. "It will be a tender for a bit, but it's as good as new."

"Thank you," Lily said.

When they left the hospital wing, they slowly made their way back toward their class. James had not let go of Lily's hand and she didn't want him to let go. She was more confused than ever. Yesterday, she had hated James with every fiber of her being. Today, she thought maybe she was starting to fall for him. Nothing made sense. All the traits she had hated in him; the immaturity, the irresponsibility, the vanity, the selfishness…suddenly they were being overshadowed by all the good things she was seeing in him. Had he really changed or was her perspective suddenly different? All she knew was that she wasn't going to rush into anything.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

That evening in the common room, Lily was searching for James; she wanted to thank him one more time for taking her to the hospital wing before she went to bed. He'd really been sweet to her. She didn't see him anywhere though; she was about to give up and go up to bed when the portrait hole swung open and James and Sirius practically fell into the common room as doubled up with laughter as they were. Lily moved toward them but James didn't see her.

"Did you see old Snivellus' face when we cornered him?" Sirius wheezed. "Priceless."

"We were pretty lucky to catch him on his own," James agreed.

"What did you two do?" Lily asked sternly as she approached them.

"Just teaching him a lesson for tripping us in class," James explained.

"What did you do to him?" Lily asked.

"Just jinxed him a little," Sirius said.

"Just when I thought you were starting to grow up," Lily said, "you go and prove that you're just as immature as before."

"We had to get him back Lily, he hurt you," James said.

"I just think you could have gone about it a different way. You shouldn't sink down to his level," Lily said. "You're more mature than that. I've seen you. Now, I'm disappointed in you. I expected that kind of behavior from you, Sirius, but not from you, James. I thought you'd grown up these past couple of days. I should've known better than to believe in you. Good-night," she finished briskly as she turned and walked quickly away.

"Lily, wait," James called after her.

She ignored the call and went up to her dormitory. As Lily made her way over to her bed, she promised herself that she would never let herself fall for James Potter. Somehow, she'd let herself be blinded by his charm and good looks, but deep down, he was still just an immature little boy. Luckily, she'd seen how he really was before she'd let herself get any more involved. As much as she knew that she was making the right decision, her heart sank a little bit as she lay down in bed. Starting tomorrow, she was going to have to start pushing him away again.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have thoughts or ideas for me. This chapter shows that the road ahead is not necessarily smooth for James and Lily. But, have faith, dear readers.

Thank you so much to my beta, Terra Ferme. I was writing one part of this chapter very out of character for one person. He noticed and quickly rewrote the offending section of the story, all while preserving what I was working toward in that section. Amazing work – I don't know what I'd do without you!!


	4. Detention, Again

The next morning, Lily steeled herself for James' advances before she left to go down to breakfast. As expected, he was waiting for her in the common room.

"Lily, can I talk to you?" James asked jumping up out of the armchair he was sitting in, waiting for her.

"You don't have anything to say that I want to hear, Potter," Lily said briskly as she continued her path toward the portrait hole.

"Won't you let me explain?" James pleaded.

"What is there to explain?" Lily demanded, finally stopping to face him. "He pulled a nasty prank on you and, rather than being the bigger man and leaving it alone, you had to turn around and pull one right back."

"Yeah, so," James said hotly. "What's so wrong with that?"

"I thought maybe you were growing up, maturing. I hoped you were over the childish habit of pulling pranks," Lily explained angrily.

"I just don't understand why this is such a big deal to you," James said. "We were getting along so well; why should my jinxing Snape have any effect on you."

"It just annoys me," Lily said. "Just because the prank was not played on me, doesn't mean I have to agree with it."

"But we were getting him back for hurting you," James protested.

"I didn't ask you to," Lily shouted. "Besides, as I recall Snape wasn't trying to trip me, I was just a casualty."

"All the more reason for me to jinx him," James shouted back. "He tripped me, hurting you in the process; of course I'm going to get him back."

"I don't need you to fight battles on my behalf," Lily shouted.

"Is that what this is really all about?" James yelled, "You _don't_ want some guy standing up for you? You're an independent woman? Well, fine! Next time, I will leave you to your own devices."

"Fine," Lily yelled back.

"Are the two of you quite done?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly as she burst through the portrait hole. "I can hear you yelling two floors down."

"Sorry, Professor," both said together.

"Lily, I expect better from you as a prefect. Both of you will come to my office this evening at seven for detention," Professor McGonagall said as she turned to leave the room. The crowd that had gathered in the common room to watch started to disperse as people headed down to breakfast.

Lily stamped her foot as angry tears sprang into her eyes. Before James could even apologize for landing her in detention again, she turned and ran back up the girl's staircase and slammed her dorm room door. James' shoulders slumped; things had been going so well between them and suddenly they were right back where they had started, James doing and saying the wrong things and Lily hating him for it.

"Breakfast, Prongs?" Sirius asked quietly beside him.

"I suppose," James said sullenly.

"There's nothing you can do right now anyway," Remus said. "Come on."

James picked at his breakfast and thought over how things had gone wrong so quickly. Now that he had seen how things could be between them, James vowed that he would work to change his ways. If becoming a more mature version of himself was what it took to get Lily, he would do it. He loved her that much.

When their first class was just ten minutes from starting, James stacked some toast and bacon into a napkin before picking up his bag. Lily was already sitting at their table when he entered the classroom. Quietly, he settled into the seat beside her and whispered, "I'm sorry." She didn't even show that she'd heard him but he continued anyway, "I brought a peace offering." He slid the napkin across the table toward her. She ignored it at first but then her stomach growled loudly and softly she said, "Thank you."

James spent the rest of the day trying to make up with Lily but she wasn't budging an inch. He wasn't giving up though. He would never give up.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

That evening, at ten to seven, James left the common room to go to McGonagall's office for detention. He sighed heavily; this detention wouldn't be as pleasant as the one they had shared two evenings ago. If Lily was still stubbornly angry with him, it was bound to be a truly miserable experience.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said as he entered the room. "Please take a seat." Lily walked into the room a few minutes later and was directed into the seat beside him. "Tonight, the two of you will be polishing the contents of the trophy room, without magic," Professor McGonagall said. "Please hand over your wands and proceed to the trophy room. I will come by in a few hours to check on your progress."

James led the way to the trophy room and, when they arrived, handed Lily a rag and tin of polish from where they were stored.

"Done this before, have you?" Lily asked dryly.

"A few times," James said with a chuckle.

"I don't see how that is anything to be proud of," Lily said acidly.

James didn't respond, simply got to work polishing a large silver cup. Lily shrugged, surprised that he didn't have a come back, and picked up a plaque to polish. For the first hour, they worked in complete silence. After an hour and a half, Sirius appeared in the room and asked James in an undertone, "Almost done?"

"No," James said.

"Well, pick up the pace, we need you tonight," Sirius said.

"You think I'm not aware of that?" James hissed. "I didn't plan on getting chucked in detention."

Lily listened with interest to their conversation and wondered if their plans tonight had anything to do with Remus' condition. Being the clever witch she was, Lily had figured out back in her third year that Remus' monthly disappearance always coincided with the full moon. It didn't take long for her to realize what that meant; Remus was a werewolf. She'd also noticed that the other Marauders always disappeared too; with Remus in that condition, she couldn't imagine how much help they could be to him. She supposed they might be employing some pretty serious magic to keep him from harming others. They were either remarkably brave or remarkably stupid; she wasn't sure which. With a few mental calculations, she realized that the full moon was tonight.

James and Sirius were still furiously whispering behind her. Without thinking, she spun around and asked, "How do you guys help him?" She repressed a smile as shock registered on both their faces.

"What are you talking about?" James asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, give it up," Lily said. "I've known since third year that Remus is a werewolf. Anyone who is observant enough could figure it out."

"You haven't told anyone have you?" Sirius asked panicked.

"No, why would I? Clearly, Dumbledore knows and feels that the situation is under control. I trust his judgment. Besides, it isn't my secret to tell," Lily said. "I just don't understand how you two and Peter fit into the equation."

"What do you mean?" James asked, playing dumb.

"Well, the three of you always disappear with him," Lily said. "You must be helping him somehow but I just haven't figured out how, _yet,_" she finished with a determined look and James knew, somehow, that she would.

"That's ridiculous," Sirius said. "You really think any of us could survive against a werewolf?"

"Don't play dumb, Sirius," Lily said. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for it."

James and Sirius exchanged a long look, silently communicating with each other and trying to decide how to proceed. Finally, James turned back to Lily and said, "Fine, you're right, we help him. But don't ask us how because we can't tell you."

"What, don't you trust me?" Lily asked.

"I do," James said. "But Sirius doesn't and I can't speak for Peter."

"Sirius," Lily said silkily, "come on. You know you can trust me."

"Lily, Lily, Lily. Flirting won't work on me," Sirius said. "That trick only works on James."

James ruffled his hair and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, "Padfoot, don't tell her that. She'll not leave me alone if she thinks she can find out our secret if she flirts with me."

"I thought you'd rather enjoy Lily flirting with you, Prongs," Sirius said,

"Only if it was flirting that wasn't designed to get secrets out of me," James said. "I'd rather she flirt with me because she was actually interested."

"How much do you want to know?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"A lot. Why?" Lily replied.

"What if we offered you a trade?" Sirius asked, ignoring the searching look James was shooting at him.

"Depends on what we're trading for?" Lily replied.

"You agree to go out on one date with James and we'll tell you our secret," Sirius offered.

"Not in a million years," Lily said with a laugh, as she turned back to her work. "Ridiculous."

"Don't decide so quickly," Sirius said. "Take a day or two to think it over. You might find that its a good trade."

"Doubtful," Lily scoffed.

Behind Lily's back, James and Sirius exchanged a shrug. "It was worth a shot," Sirius said.

James smiled sadly and said, "Thanks for trying."

"We're going to be here all night if you don't get back to work," Lily warned.

"How about if we speed this up so you can both get out of here," Sirius said as he brandished his wand. He quickly walked around the room pointing his wand and saying, "Scourgify."

"McGonagall is going to come check on us in a little while," Lily said. "What about that?"

"We'll keep working until she comes and, when she releases us, I'll catch up with the guys," James said. "Okay?"

"Fine," Lily agreed. "But I don't like it and I'm going to find out what you're doing. I'm sure that whatever it is, it's unsafe."

"I can't believe you're going along with this," James said gratefully.

"Me neither," Lily admitted. "Part of me wants to turn you in for whatever rules you're breaking, but another part of can't help but be impressed with how loyal you are to your friend."

"Maybe I'm more mature that you thought?" James asked leadingly.

"Maybe," Lily agreed.

"Maybe we could try being friends again?" James asked.

"Don't push your luck," Lily said.

They went back to working in silence. When Professor McGonagall returned, she looked around the room and said, "Very nice work. You two _do _make a good team. You may go after you finish the pieces you are working on. Please try not to have such loud and raucous fights in the common room in the future."

As soon as she'd left the room, they replaced the pieces they were polishing, returned their rags and polish to a drawer, and left the room. As they hurried back to the Gryffindor common room, Lily thought about ways she could convince James to tell her their secret.

"James," Lily called.

"Oh, it's James again, is it?" he replied, slightly irritated.

"Please tell me what you are up to?" Lily coaxed. "Is it dangerous?"

"Why do you care?" James asked.

"As much as I'm not interested in dating you, it doesn't mean that I want anything to happen to you," Lily said. "I need to know that what you are doing is safe."

"So, you _do_ have feelings for me after all," James said cockily.

"Yes, friendly feelings, not romantic feelings," Lily reminded him. "What can I do to convince you to tell me?"

"You heard Sirius' offer," James said.

"You really want me to go on a date with you for one answer?" Lily asked. "Wouldn't a date with me mean more if you'd gotten me to agree because I had true feelings for you?"

"Yes," James said, "but maybe if I convinced you to go on one date with me, you would realize that you do have feelings for me after all."

"And if I didn't realize I had feelings for you? Then what?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," James confessed.

"Would you be able to give up on me if, after one date, I didn't have feelings for you? Or do you enjoy the hunt too much?" Lily asked.

"I think you enjoy the hunt," James shot back.

"Right," Lily chuckled darkly. "I love anticipating the new and embarrassing ways you will find to ask me out everyday and the childish pranks you plan to try and win my attention."

As they approached the portrait hole, James pulled Lily aside and said, "Lily, I promise that what we're doing is very safe. You don't need to worry. If you want to know, go on a date with me and I'll tell you."

"You wouldn't settle for anything less than a date would you?" Lily asked hopefully.

"What did you have in mind?" James asked.

"A kiss," Lily offered.

James blew out a breath and said, "As bloody tempting as that offer is, no. A date or nothing. But, how about I kiss you anyway?"

Lily smacked James arm and said, "You are impossible."

"I had to try," James said with a grin. "Listen, I know I screwed up last night, but could we try being friends again? I would really like it if we could."

"We do make a pretty good team," Lily admitted. "I'm not sure that whatever you, Sirius, and Peter are up to tonight helps your case, but I will consider it."

"Thanks Lily," James said happily, as he pulled her into a hug.

"James," she squealed against his chest, "I did not say you could hug me."

"Sorry," James said, not looking at all sorry. "I have to prance along now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, James," Lily said.

"Goodnight, Lily," James replied.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

As Lily got ready for bed in her dorm room, she had to admit that she was once again confused. James could be so infuriatingly immature and obnoxious, but then, on the other hand, he could be so charming and irresistible. Why couldn't she sort out her feelings for him? Just last night she had been angry enough to promise herself that she would never fall for James Potter. Tonight, he had her reconsidering that promise. As she thought back over their conversation, she wondered, "_Do I enjoy the hunt_?" If James stopped asking her out and pulling pranks on her tomorrow, how would she feel? The rational part of her screamed, "_Brilliant_!" But the part of her that was attracted by James' charm and warmth knew that she would be upset if he stopped chasing her. She was starting to feel like there were two Lilys. She flopped onto her bed and growled with frustration into her pillow. It was infuriating to feel this out of control, what was she going to do?

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

When James met up with his fellow Marauders near the entrance hall, he was smiling.

"You look happy," Sirius said. "Did she agree to go on a date with you for the answer?"

"Not yet, but I'm wearing her down," James said. "I asked if we could be friends again and she said she'd consider it."

"I don't understand how you can be so bloody happy after an entire evening of bickering with Evans," Sirius growled.

"The fact that she is even speaking to me again is cause to celebrate," James said. "As mad as she was last night, the old Lily wouldn't have talked to me for weeks. I've got her talking to me again less than 24 hours later. I'm starting to get to her."

"You may just be right," Remus said. "Now, can we get outside?"

**Author's Note:** Lots of thanks to my beta, Terra Ferme, for taking the time to edit this chapter for me. I've been giving you a lot of work this week and you're still keeping up with me. You are the best!

Thanks for reading! Let me know how I'm doing or if you have ideas for me!


	5. Another

The next morning at breakfast, the Marauders, except for a noticeably absent Remus, were looking especially worse for wear. Lily wondered why they had bothered to turn up for breakfast when they could have slept in until their first class, but based on the disgusting way they were shoveling food into their mouths, they were just as hungry as they were tired. Lily studied James as he sat, slumped in his chair, eating a few seats over. Despite his exhaustion, his Lily-radar seemed to still be on high alert. Just as she was about to glance away, he noticed her stare and flashed her a tired smile. She returned the smile before blushing and staring back into the book she had propped open in front of her. As she pretended to read it, her mind continued to debate whether or not she should go on one date with James to find out what they were up to. The part of her that worried about the safety of what they were doing said yes. The part of her that worried about how much further James could charm her said no. That was the real sticky point; as much as it bothered her to admit it, James was charming and, more and more, she was finding herself drawn to him. She was starting to not trust herself when it came to him.

When it was time to head to class, she was not surprised when James fell into step beside her. "Morning, Lily," he said with a yawn.

"Last night went well I take it?" Lily asked.

"As per usual," James said.

"Are you ready to tell me how you help him?" Lily asked.

"Are you ready to go on that date with me?" he shot back with a crooked grin.

"Definitely not," Lily said firmly, but the flutter in her stomach was saying otherwise.

"Well, let me know when you change your mind," he said.

"Dream on," Lily said.

"See you in class, Lily," James said, as he sped up to catch up with Sirius and Peter who were walking just ahead of them. Lily was surprised to find that she was disappointed.

Her eyes followed his every move and she nearly shrieked in surprise when Alice caught up with her and asked, "Who are you staring at so hard?"

"Merlin, Alice, don't sneak up on me like that," Lily scolded.

"I wouldn't have surprised you at all if you weren't so busy checking out James," Alice said loudly.

"I am _not _checking out James!" Lily hissed, mortified by the thought that he might have overheard Alice.

"Could've fooled me," Alice said knowingly.

When they arrived at the classroom, Lily took her seat beside James and pulled her book out of her bag. Then, in an effort to appear busy so she wouldn't have to speak to him, she rummaged around in her bag, seemingly searching for parchment, ink, and quill. When Professor Flitwick finally took his place at the front of the classroom, and James couldn't talk to her, she straightened in her seat. Thinking that she had succeeded in her attempts to not talk to James, she smiled smugly to herself. Then James pushed a piece of parchment toward her.

"_Avoiding me_?" He'd written.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him smirking. She rolled her eyes in irritation before worrying about how transparent she'd become.

"_No, I just couldn't find my ink,"_ Lily wrote then slid the parchment back.

"_Right, your ink,"_ James wrote back. "_I think maybe you're getting nervous that the next time I ask you out, you won't be able to say no and so you are avoiding me instead."_

Lily scoffed out loud for James' benefit but her mind was whirling, "Could he read her mind all of the sudden?" Rather than writing back, she turned to pay attention to the lecture and her notes. Beside her, James chuckled quietly before he turned back to his own note taking as well.

When they reached the practical part of the lesson, it was no longer possible to ignore James. They were to practice silencing charms on one another. Lily was thankful that the charm would, at least, make it impossible for them to carry on a conversation.

"Lily," James began, "why are you…"

But Lily cut him off mid sentence by flicking her wand at him and saying, "Silencio." She grinned broadly at him as his mouth continued to move, but no further sound came out.

"Very good, Miss Evans," Professor Flitwick said, as he moved around the classroom. "Now, end the spell so Mr. Potter can try it on you."

As the spell broke, James' voice rushed out, returning to the question he'd started to ask earlier, "Lily, why are you avoiding me?"

"I need a reason to avoid you now?" Lily shot back.

"No," James said, "but usually you're game for a little verbal sparring. This morning, you keep finding ways to avoid talking to me at all. I don't understand."

Lily didn't know how to answer his question without giving away the fact that her reluctance to talk to him was because the more she talked to him, the more she found she didn't hate him after all. In an effort to escape this line of conversation, Lily turned to her standby, which she knew he would silence in a moment. "Potter, only someone with an ego as large as yours would assume…"

And she was silenced. Her stomach swooped at his beaming smile over having successfully silenced her. Her heart hadn't been in the speech she had been giving him, but for his benefit, she continued; she loved the way he was grinning at her too much to stop.

"Lily," James said, "tell me what you really think about me." He watched her mouth move and chuckled at his inability to decipher a single thing she was saying. When her mouth finally stilled and she cocked an eyebrow at him, he got an idea. Non-verbally, he ended the silencing spell and asked, "So, Lily, how about that date?"

Knowing full well that her voice was not working yet, Lily said the first thing that came to mind, "James, I would love to." When she realized that what she'd said was not silenced and had, in fact, been overheard by the entire class, she blushed so furiously she was practically violet. "James," she hissed, "you tricked me. I'm not going out on a date with you."

"Then why did you say yes?" James asked, glowing happily. "You'd think if you really didn't want to go out with me, even under the influence of a silencing charm, you would say no, not yes. So, what gives?"

At a complete loss for words, Lily gaped at him, opening and closing her mouth uselessly. Finally she said, "Someone must have messed up their silencing charm and accidentally cast a confundus charm on me."

"Weak, Evans," Potter said. "Why can't you be honest with me? You're starting to have feelings for me but you're too afraid to admit it."

"Never," Lily said angrily. Even if he was right, she could never admit it, especially not in front of the whole class who were not even disguising the fact that they were listening avidly to the conversation.

When the class ended, Lily rushed from the room, not even waiting for Alice. She ran all the way to a corridor that she knew to be abandoned more often than not. She threw her bag to the floor and let herself slide down the wall until she sat on the floor. How had things gotten so out of control? Her next class was due to start in minutes but she didn't care. She couldn't go and sit beside James after what had just happened. She was too embarrassed.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

When Lily didn't turn up in Potions, James felt bad. He knew that he had tricked her and embarrassed her. He just didn't get how she could deny how she felt about him. He could tell that things were changing. Maybe he needed to be patient and, in time, she would figure it out, or maybe he just needed to move on. If she wouldn't realize that her feelings were true and take a chance on them, he wasn't sure what else to do.

Since both Remus and Lily were missing from class, James was paired up with Sonya Jacobs, Remus' usual partner. Sonya was a tall, brunette Ravenclaw. James couldn't help but notice the way that she was looking at him. While his heart would always belong to Lily, until she finally realized too that they belonged together; it was nice to have a girl appreciate him as openly as Sonya was. What he wouldn't give to see Lily look at him like that, just once. Perhaps he would indulge in a little female company while he waited on Lily.

When class ended, James and Sonya left the room together and found their way to a corridor that James knew to be abandoned most of the time. For a time, they just talked about Quidditch and brooms; Sonya was a chaser on the Ravenclaw team. But eventually they drew closer together and James leaned in to kiss her. While Sonya was not the girl he wanted to be kissing, he wasn't going to turn her away. He let his mind be swept wondrously blank as their lips danced. He nearly missed the gasp just behind them. Sonya pulled away at the sound and James spun when noisy footfalls receded down the corridor behind them. He saw a flash of her red hair before she disappeared around the corner.

"Damn," James swore. While he hadn't been prepared to turn Sonya away, he also hadn't wanted Lily to see him with another girl. "I have to run Sonya, talk to you later?"

Without waiting for her response, he ran down the corridor and skidded around the same corner that he'd seen Lily disappear around. It didn't take him long to catch up with her. He grabbed her by the shoulder and she stopped.

When she spun around, his heart sunk when he saw the tears coursing down her face. "Lily," was all he managed to utter before she slapped him.

"And to think I was actually falling for you. I thought you really had changed. What you did in Charms this morning was so embarrassing for me because it was true. I said the first thing that came to mind because I thought I was still silenced. Why do you always have to prove to me that you are still the same immature, womanizing, git you've always been?" Lily said.

"Lily," James uttered again.

"Don't," Lily said. "Just don't. I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I will never go out with you. How could I take myself seriously if I went out with a prat who kissed another girl after all the effort he put into charming me? And to think you were making some progress."

"Lily," James tried again.

"Silencio," Lily yelled, flicking her wand at him. "Save it, Potter. We're through. For all I care, you can get yourself killed out on your little night ventures with Remus."

To James' horror, she then spun on her heel and stalked off. He was too shocked to follow her and demand that she end the spell. He sank down to the floor and banged his head against the stonewall behind him. How could he be so stupid? He had been right; he'd been making progress with Lily and he'd even heard from her own lips that she'd love to go on a date with him and what did he do? He bloody kissed another girl and gotten caught in the act; stupid, stupid, stupid.

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Dumbledore was hidden in shadow at the far end of the corridor in which Lily had just screamed at James. He couldn't blame her. To finally realize ones feelings only to have them cheapened was harsh. He felt especially bad for James though. To finally be so close to winning the affections he had so desperately sought for years, only to lose it due to his own stupidity, was heart breaking. He sighed and wished that he could just perform a memory charm on Lily and put everything right again. He hoped that he could push them back together again; he just had to. It was clearer than ever that they truly belonged together.

Lily retreated to her dorm room and climbed into bed to wallow. She would allow herself this one afternoon to feel badly for herself, but then it was time to move on and put on a brave face. She didn't want James, or anyone else, thinking that he'd succeeded in breaking her heart.

When James finally lifted himself off the floor, he stopped by the Great Hall long enough to get Sirius to lift the spell Lily had cast on him. Then, without stopping to eat lunch, he went up to his dorm room and climbed into bed. He needed to think; how could he explain to Lily that she truly was the only girl for him? That what she'd seen with Sonya was all a misunderstanding? But he knew, it was no misunderstanding. Lily knew what she'd seen; James, kissing another girl after he'd spent so much time chasing after her. The only thought that lifted his spirits only slightly, was the realization that seeing what she had, and the reaction she'd unleashed, could only be the product of jealousy. He just hoped he hadn't hurt her so far that he couldn't repair the damage.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think or if you have ideas for me.

Lots of thanks to Terra Ferme, my awesome beta, for hanging in there through file transfer issues and my gender-bending errors. ;) You always do an amazing job ~ thanks!


	6. Love or Hate?

It had been three long weeks since Lily caught James kissing Sonya in the corridor. Dumbledore was getting discouraged. Lily would only speak to James in class when they needed to work together; otherwise she was ignoring him completely. James, on the other hand, was giving Lily an ocean of space. He, also, only spoke to her in class when they were forced to work together. And most surprisingly, James' overall demeanor seemed to have changed. Dumbledore couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a cunning grin cross James' face or a mischievous glint light his eyes and his friend's persistent schemes to lighten James' sprits were proving fruitless. Dumbledore needed to find a way to push Lily and James together so they would talk about what happened and work out their differences. It seemed more obvious to him than ever that they belonged together. If they didn't, neither of them would be quite so depressed over what had happened. The problem was they weren't giving any of their professors adequate reason to put them in detention together. He needed to come up with something and quickly or they would lose the momentum they'd previously gained.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Lily stiffened in her seat as James settled beside her. She didn't look up from her parchment or acknowledge his presence in any way. She was starting to wonder how long it would be until her indifference of James was not feigned. It infuriated her that the feelings that had been blossoming in her for James had not lessened. She still got a swooping sensation in the pit of her stomach when he got too close and, when his scent enveloped her, she thought back what it felt like to be in his arms. More than anything, she wished she could just flip a switch and turn her feelings back off. It had been three weeks and she was still angry. The only difference was that, in the last three weeks, a large portion of that anger had shifted toward herself. She was angry at herself for letting James get close enough to affect her in the first place. She was angry that she had let down her guard enough for him to get her to fall for him. But, most of all, she was angry that she had gotten so angry with him on that day three weeks ago. When she thought back to that day, she burned with embarrassment. She had screamed at him about kissing another girl after chasing her for so long. She had never given him any indication that she was interested. Why wouldn't he have gone after another girl? He had every right to be kissing Sonya. And, worst of all, in her little rant, she'd openly admitted to him that she begun to have feelings for him. She just wished that she'd been less of a bitch to him. She didn't feel like she'd left herself any room for forgiveness without making herself look like a complete fool. The bright spot in all of this was that James did not appear to be dating Sonya. In fact, immediately after the incident, Lily had seen Sonya approach James and he'd turned her away.

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As James settled into his seat beside Lily, he noticed the way her neck and shoulders tensed. This was the only indication she gave that she'd even noticed him arrive. It had been the longest three weeks of his life. Lily had been angry with him before; but this time was different. This time, he knew that she was angry and jealous that he'd kissed Sonya when she was starting to have feelings for him. He was elated to learn that he'd been making progress with her, finally; but now to be back to square one was heartbreaking. He wanted to talk to her, to explain that he never would have kissed Sonya had he realized that Lily had feelings for him. Lily was the only girl he ever wanted and there was no way he would knowingly jeopardize a chance with her. On the other hand, he also wanted to tell her how hypocritical she was being. She'd displayed almost no signs that she liked James and she'd rejected all his advances but then, the moment he moves onto another girl, she goes nuclear. It was so confusing; he had to admit that he didn't understand girls at all. He hoped Lily was at least paying enough attention to realize that he'd turned Sonya away. Right now, he was simply giving her space. He wanted her to talk to him when she was ready, on her terms. He just hoped that day would be soon.

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Later that evening, Lily had patrol duty with Remus. He was not her usual patrol partner, but Sasha, her Ravenclaw partner, was not feeling well and Remus had offered to trade shifts with her. Normally, Lily got along wonderfully with Remus. Of all the Marauders, he was the most responsible, the most reliable, and, _definitely_, the most mature one. _"At least, compared to James," _she thought. Today though, he was making her nervous. She could sense that he wanted to talk to her about what had happened three weeks ago. They had already discussed classes and assignments as they made their rounds and now walked in companionable silence.

"He feels terrible about it, you know," Remus said, somewhat cryptically. Lily knew exactly what he was talking about of course. When she remained silent, Remus continued. "He had no idea that you'd started to have feelings for him too. When he kissed her, he really thought he was just giving you some space and moving on to someone else."

"I know," Lily said quietly. "I mean, I've thought about it a lot since then and I came to that conclusion as well."

"So, maybe you could talk to him about it and make up?" Remus suggested.

"I can't," Lily said.

"Why not?" Remus asked.

"I was such a bitch to him," Lily said. "Not to mention, a hypocrite. I mean, I gave him no indication that my feelings toward him were changing. He had every right to kiss Sonya. I totally over reacted when I saw them. He must think I'm such an idiot."

Remus chuckled before saying, "I think, more than anything, he was thrilled to find out that he'd been making progress with you and, that kissing Sonya, had made you jealous. I think you'll find that he'll easily forgive you."

"It's embarrassing that I need to be forgiven at all," Lily said stubbornly.

"So, you'll talk to him?" Remus asked hopefully.

"I'll think about it," Lily said.

"That's all I can ask," Remus said.

They walked along in silence for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts. Lily knew that she should talk to him and makes things better. Part of her didn't want to though. If they fixed things, it opened that door again, for there to be feelings between them. While she admitted that she had some feelings for him, she wasn't convinced yet that she wanted to act on them. How was she supposed to figure out which feelings toward James were more dominant; her attraction or her loathing? She sighed, realizing she had no idea.

"What are you thinking about?" Remus asked.

"Whether I want to make up with James or not," Lily said honestly.

"Why wouldn't you? I thought you fancied him?" Remus asked.

"Part of me is drawn toward him and part of me is repelled by him," Lily explained. "I don't know which side will win."

"Maybe you should go on that date with him and find out. I guarantee you, that after one date, you would know for certain which side will win. What would be so wrong with taking that chance?" Remus asked. "Are you afraid of getting hurt?"

Lily thought for a minute before saying, "If you repeat any of this to James, I will hex you, understand?" Remus nodded and Lily continued, "I have grown accustomed to the attention that James pays to me. I'm afraid that if I go on a date with him, and don't want to take it any further, he'll move onto someone else, and there will be no one left who wants me."

Remus laughed and said, "Lily, you do realize that you are probably one of the most wanted girls in this school, right?" When Lily shook her head no, Remus said, "Ah, that'll be James' doing. He's been threatening any guy who's shown interest in you for years."

"Really?" Lily asked. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed at the level of commitment James had invested in his interest in her or irritated.

"Really," Remus said. "Lily, I know that you don't take his feelings for you entirely seriously, but they are true and honest and very real. He has loved you since the first moment he laid eyes on you."

"But all the other girls that there have been…," Lily said.

"Distractions from the one girl he really wants but can't have," Remus said. "Think about making up with him and then think about going on a date with him. I think you owe it to yourself to see how real your feelings are for him. And, you owe it to James to decide, once and for all, if you want to be with him or not."

Lily gave him a small smile and said, "Thanks, Remus."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

When their shift ended and they returned to the common room, Lily noticed James sitting with Sirius and Peter at a table, attempting to study. Just looking at him made her heart skip a beat and she made a snap decision. Grabbing Remus' arm, she said, "Tell James to meet me out in the corridor."

Remus grinned at her and said, "Way to go, Lils."

Lily returned to the corridor and paced in a tight little circle, wringing her hands and waiting for James to appear. She wasn't entirely sure yet what she wanted to say; she hoped that when she saw him, she would just know the right thing.

"You wanted to see me?" James asked from behind her. She'd gotten so lost in her thoughts; she hadn't heard him come out.

"Yeah," Lily said. "Um, want to go for a walk?"

"Sure," James said awkwardly. Lily took off down the corridor and James kept pace beside her. They'd been walking for around three minutes when James said, "I thought you were going to talk."

"Yeah," Lily said. "I'm just trying to figure out the best way to say this." She stopped walking and turned to face him. Nervously, she stretched out her hand and put it on his forearm before quickly snatching it back. James reached out his hand and grasped her's in his own. Taking a deep breath, she said, "James, I am sorry for how I treated you when I caught you. It was extremely hypocritical of me and I had no business being angry with you."

"Thank you Lily," James said politely. "I'm sorry too."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Lily asked.

"I'm sorry that you saw what you did," James admitted. "I never would have kissed her had I realized what was happening between us."

"Which is?" Lily prompted.

"I have no idea," James said. "I was hoping that you could explain it to me. All I know is that when you were yelling at me that day, you said a few things that might indicate that you feel something for me."

Lily blushed attractively and lowered her eyes to the floor. James cupped her chin; in the hand that wasn't twined with hers, and tilted her eyes back up to meet his. Lily smiled a little and said, "I'm not sure either. There is part of me that is very drawn to you and a part of me that finds you to be very obnoxious. I was hoping that we could start off as friends and see what happens."

"Is that the best idea you can come up with?" James asked.

"Remus thinks I should go out on that date with you and, one way or another, I would know for sure if my feelings for you are more good or bad," Lily said.

"I would be up for that," James said with a grin.

Lily grinned back and said, "Not so fast, I didn't agree to a date yet."

"So, friends huh?" James asked as they proceeded down the corridor. He looked down at their joined hands and asked, "Do friends hold hands?"

"Sometimes," Lily said.

"What else do _friends_ sometimes do?" James asked.

"How about talk?" Lily suggested. "I haven't talked to you in three weeks; I'm sure there's something you could tell me about."

"Hmmmmm," James said, "let's see. Well, Snape is as greasy as usual. My scoring average in Quidditch is up slightly. But most of all, I missed you…so much."

Lily's stomach swooped and a blush spread across her cheeks. Before she quite realized what she was doing, her mouth said, "I missed you too." As shocked as she was to hear that come out of her mouth, she was even more surprised to realize that it was actually true. She had missed him and the relationship developing between them.

They made several laps of the corridors together, holding hands the entire time. They discussed everything from classes to her muggle home life. When they neared the Gryffindor common room, Lily glanced at her watch and said, "Curfew is in ten minutes; we'd better go back in."

"In a minute," James said as he pulled her into a darkened corner near the portrait hole. "I actually have another suggestion about how you could decide if you like me or hate me." She nodded at him to continue and he said, "Kiss me." Lily swung back her arm, preparing to slug him. He easily caught hold of her wrist, stopping her and said, "Just hear me out. If there is a real spark between us, you'll be able to feel it in a kiss."

"Couldn't I just look into your eyes?" Lily asked.

"No," James said. "That would be deceiving because eyes can make believe."

"What about if you hold me tight? If it feels right to be in your arms, then I'd know," Lily suggested.

"No, that's just my arms," James said. "And don't even think about my face, that's just my charm. It has to be in the kiss."

Lily couldn't believe that he actually had her considering kissing him. But she could kind of see the logic in what he was saying. If she didn't really like him, wouldn't the kiss be uncomfortable?

James could see that he had her at least considering it. So he pushed her a little bit. "I'll kiss you and then you can think about whether you need that date to decide too. Okay?"

Lily still looked hesitant, but leaned closer into him and said, "Okay." James' eyes widened and he took a moment to position her just so. "Hurry up and kiss me before I change my mind," Lily demanded.

"I'm preparing," James said. "This might be my one big chance to make you see how much we belong together. This has to be the best kiss of my life."

Lily watched him closely as he finally drew in a breath before closing his eyes and lowering his lips to hers. As his perfect lips, which she'd admired on more than one occasion lately, made contact with her own, she knew that she was in so much trouble. If this chaste little kiss could cause her knees to turn to jelly, then she could only imagine what a full frontal snog would do to her. Then suddenly, she didn't have to imagine it at all. James' very skilled mouth and tongue were deepening the kiss and Lily felt as if she were melting. Of their own accord, her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him ever closer. She felt his arms snake around her waist and pull her flush against him. Before she was ready, his lips separated from hers and he asked huskily, "So, what's the verdict; love or hate?" In response, Lily tightened her grip around his neck and returned her lips to his. She felt him smile against her mouth as he returned to the work at hand.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Half an hour later, they snuck back into the common room, which was nearly empty. The Marauders and Alice were the only students, besides them, still out of bed. They eyed them expectantly as they casually climbed through the portrait hole.

"So, how about that date?" James asked quietly.

"I'll think about it," Lily replied.

"You never did tell me," James said, "love or hate?"

"I think I'm leaning toward love," Lily said. "Good night, James."

James chucked at her cute embarrassment, as she grabbed Alice by the hand and hurried toward the girl's staircase. "Good night, Lily," he called loudly after her.

He sauntered toward the table where his friends sat, with a wide smile on his face.

"So, the two of you made up?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," James said happily.

"Did she agree to go on a date with you yet?" Remus asked. "I told her that might be a good way to find out how she really feels about you."

"Thanks for that," James said, "but no, she still hasn't decided."

"Then, why do you look so happy?" Peter asked.

"Well, I convinced her of another way she might be able to tell if she liked me or not," James said.

"How?" his friends asked in unison.

"By kissing me," James said.

"And she went for it?" Remus asked. "She has it worse for you than I thought."

"Yep. We snogged out in the corridor for half an hour," James said proudly.

"Only you could get her, to go from not speaking for three whole weeks, to snogging in the span of a day," Sirius snickered, as Peter laughed.

"Hopefully, she'll agree to that date next," Remus said.

"Yes, hopefully," James agreed.

"Just try not to mess it up again," Sirius said.

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Lily dragged Alice up to their dorm, shut the door behind them, pulled Alice onto her bed with her, drew the curtains, and cast a silencing charm.

"Lily, what on earth…," Alice began.

"I snogged James Potter," Lily blurted.

"Merlin," Alice breathed, "are you serious?"

"I swear," Lily said.

Alice studied her friend before saying, "Your lips are looking a bit swollen. Weren't you still avoiding him just this morning?"

"Yeah," Lily said.

"So, what happened?" Alice asked.

It was close to one in the morning when the girls finally went to bed. As Lily lay in her bed, she realized that she was a lot less confused; she really did like James Potter. But, was it enough to make up for the things she didn't like about him? As she waited for sleep to come, she replayed the kiss in her head and wondered if she should agree to that date.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading!! Send me a review and let me know what you think. I have had a few people point out that there's a lot of twists in this relationship (yes, I'm talking to you, The Hypocrite). Yes, it will not be a smooth path to them getting together. Lily is conflicted about James. A million extra points to anyone who can guess the song that I borrowed from for this chapter. Thanks again for reading.

Also, big huge thanks to my beta Terra Ferme for editing this chapter and all the GREAT ideas. You are awesome!!


	7. Flying

Lily shivered in the brisk spring wind and wrapped her coat more snuggly around herself. She was sitting beside Alice in the stands for the last Quidditch game before the final match taking place several weeks from now. Today, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were battling it out to see who would go up against Slytherin in the final. As a muggle-born student, Lily had not been an immediate Quidditch fan. She'd gone to every game with her friends but didn't share the obsession they had with it. To be fair though, Lily had never really been a big fan of sports, muggle or magical. Today though, her attention was riveted on the game, or more specifically, her attention was riveted on James.

She had heard since he joined the team in his second year, what a very talented player he was, but her dislike of him had caused her to downplay his skill in her mind and pay little attention to his efforts on the pitch. Lately, due to the new found level of closeness that was slowly developing between them, she found her attention constantly drawn to James and today was no exception. She worried her lower lip as she nervously watched him execute a particularly risky dive toward the ground. When he finally pulled out of the dive and shot back toward the clear blue sky, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She smiled to herself ruefully, when had she let James get this kind of hold over her?

James on a broomstick, was pure beauty and grace personified. She marveled at how easy he made it all look. She remembered when they'd had flying lessons in their first year; it had been her first and last time on a broomstick. Perhaps it was because she'd come from the muggle world where all flying was done on board an airplane, but she had been clumsy, awkward, and petrified while astride the school's broomstick and, once reaching the ground safely, she vowed never to get on one again.

A shrill whistle blew signaling a time out taken by one of the team captains. As the players halted their action and slowly began moving toward the ground, James flew past where she and Alice were sitting and winked at her. Lily felt the blush climb up her neck as she rewarded him with a beaming smile. She heard more than a few girls around her giggle and sigh happily over the sight of James and was surprised to find that she was absurdly jealous. There was a part of her that wanted to make sure they all knew he was winking at her, not any of them.

Alice took this lull in the game to ask, "So, what's going on with you and James? You haven't told me much of anything since you kissed him and that was almost a week ago already."

"We're just friends," Lily said firmly.

"Looks like you're more than friends to me," Alice said smugly.

"Maybe," Lily allowed, before she added in a moan, "I don't know."

"What don't you know?" Alice pressed.

"I don't know what James and I are. Friends? Enemies? Something else?" Lily explained.

"Well, since you kissed him, I'm reasonably sure you aren't enemies," Alice said with a grin, taking some enjoyment from her friend's drama. It was rare for Lily to be caught up in this sort of commotion. Lily was a no-nonsense sort of girl and typically James was the kind of nonsense she liked the least. Seeing her so conflicted and distraught over her feelings for James, was a bit disconcerting, but also very entertaining. Alice was of the opinion that Lily needed to let go and live a little bit and James was just the person to help her do it. "Have you kissed him again?" Alice asked.

"No," Lily said, as she shook her head fervently.

"Do you want to?" Alice asked slyly.

Lily flushed instantly, revealing her answer, but still quietly said, "Yes."

"And you're not sure if you and James are more than friends," Alice said sadly. "How blind are you?"

"I'm not blind," Lily shot. "I'm in denial."

Alice chuckled and said, "Why are you in denial?"

"I can't be falling for James Potter," Lily explained. "We're too different. We value different things and he makes me crazy."

"Good crazy or bad crazy?" Alice asked, as she shifted in her seat a bit to see if Remus and Peter, who Lily had obviously forgotten were sitting just behind them, were following this line of conversation. Remus caught her eye and smirked, nodding in encouragement, clearly saying that they were, indeed, listening.

"It depends on what he's doing," Lily said. "If he's hexing Slytherins in the corridors then it's bad crazy, but if he's holding my hand and making me laugh then it's good crazy."

Alice had been about to continue drilling her friend, who seemed extremely willing to continue discussing the situation, when the players flew back into the air to resume the match. Alice noticed how Lily's eyes immediately found James and focused all her attention on him. She also noticed the slight smile that graced her friend's face and knew, that even if Lily was still in denial, eventually she would fall for James Potter. After all, she was already half way there.

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The Gryffindor team had pulled out a thrilling victory by beating the Ravenclaw team by over 175 points. Alice and Lily stood on their seats and screamed until their throats grew hoarse; it had been an outstanding match. When the throng of supporters finally dissipated, letting the players return to the locker room, Lily and Alice turned to follow their fellow students back up to the castle.

"Lily," James called from behind them.

"James," she said happily, as she whirled around at his call. "Great match, you were amazing."

James looked pleased at her praise, and said, "Thanks. Hey, I wanted to talk to you, could you wait here for me? I'll go shower quick and come right back."

"We couldn't just meet up in the castle somewhere?" Lily asked.

"I'd prefer it be here," James said hopefully.

Sensing that Lily would say no if she didn't intervene, Alice said, "Lily, I'll wait with you until James comes back."

"Okay," Lily said, hesitantly.

"I'll be right back," James assured her happily, as he raced toward the locker room.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Lily asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Alice asked, playing dumb.

Lily rolled her eyes at Alice and then settled in the grass beside her. Just as she was about to start questioning Alice about the boy she had noticed her eyeing, that very boy appeared.

"Alice," Frank called as he walked toward them across the pitch. "I was hoping that I could walk you, and Lily" he added quickly, "back to the castle."

Alice blushed brightly; she had become extremely taken with Frank since they became partners in Transfiguration. "I'd be happy to," Alice said, "but Lily is waiting for James."

"We can wait until he comes out," Frank offered. "There's no hurry."

Lily, Alice, and Frank sat in near silence for almost two minutes, while the latter two alternately eyed each other and blushed. Finally, unable to stand anymore, Lily said, "So, great match today."

"What?" Frank asked, reluctantly turning away from Alice to face Lily. "Oh yeah, great match. Go Gryffindor."

"Lily," James finally called from behind her.

"Thank Merlin," Lily muttered to herself, as she turned and strode toward James; she couldn't have stood much longer with her love struck friend.

Overhearing her comment, James chuckled and asked, "Happy to see me, then?"

Glaring darkly at him, Lily said, "Only because it gets me away from those two love birds." As she motioned back toward Frank and Alice, Lily turned slightly to see the couple sharing a quick kiss. Shaking her head, Lily turned back to James and asked, "Was there something you wanted?"

"I was hoping we could spend some time together," James said, sounding more formal that usual.

"Outside?" Lily asked.

"I was hoping you'd let me take you for a ride on my broomstick," James suggested.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise, and quickly she said, "No, I don't ride broomsticks."

"What do you mean?" James asked. "Everyone rides broomsticks, well, everyone magical anyway."

"Not me," Lily said sternly.

"Why not? Are you afraid?" James asked, after a quick study of her posture.

"No," Lily said defiantly, as she wrapped her arms around her torso. "Of course not. I mean, what's to be afraid of? Just falling to ones death from a great height, at a high speed; nothing too scary about that."

"Lily," James said softly, as he grasped her by the upper arm and pulled her toward him. He wrapped a struggling Lily in his strong embrace, and murmured, "Lily, you have to know I would never put you in any danger. I wouldn't let anything happen to you, ever. I'm a very good flyer. Please, let me share that with you."

While Lily tried to maintain the annoyed scowl she wore, but she could feel it fading as she relaxed in his arms, her ear pressed up against his chest. As she listening to his heartbeat and the delightful rumble that was James' deep voice resonating from somewhere within his chest, she could feel her resolve slipping. "Fine," she finally said, "but if anything happens to me, I will never speak to you ever again."

"Deal," James said happily, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where he'd left his broom propped. Despite her fear, she couldn't help but grin at his happiness. He picked up the broom, but before getting on, he quickly kissed Lily on the cheek, and said, "Thank you for trusting me."

"Just don't make me regret it," Lily warned, with a small smile.

James swung a leg over his broom, which was hovering next to him. His natural urge was to help her on, but he knew that she would protest at his assistance so instead, he instructed, "Get on behind me and hold on tight." His willed his heart to remain calm as he felt her settle on the broom behind him and timidly slide her arms around him. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied sounding nervous.

"I'm going to lift off the ground slowly," James said. "So you can get used it how it feels." He could feel Lily's head nod against his back and her arms tighten slightly around his torso. He pushed lightly off the ground and they hovered just two feet off the ground. Slowly, he began to make a loop of the pitch; carefully he increased both their speed and height, easing Lily into it. By the time they had reached the point where they'd started, they were twenty feet off the ground and steadily zipping along. He felt Lily's arms tight around him and called over his shoulder, "You okay?" Again, he felt her nod against his back and he chuckled. He wanted to go fast and impress her with his flying skills, but he needed to get her used to being in the air first. "So, why don't you fly?" he called over his shoulder.

"I'm muggle born, remember?" She replied.

"Yeah, but they teach everyone first year," James said.

"I was terrible at it; that was my one and only experience on a broomstick," Lily confessed.

"You know, I could teach you," James offered. "I bet you have more nature ability than you think."

"No," Lily said quickly. "Its terrifying enough, being on a broom with someone who knows what they're doing."

Not being dissuaded, James continued, "Besides, I bet you were on one of the lousy school brooms, I'll teach you on mine." Excitedly, he was already heading back toward the ground in the center of the pitch.

"No," Lily repeated emphatically.

"Stop being so stubborn," James urged. "I tell you what. I'll give you the same lesson they give the first years and, if you don't want to continue after that, I'll let you quit."

"You remember the lesson they teach the first years?" Lily asked dubiously.

"Of course. I helped teach the lesson for the last three years," James said.

Lily couldn't help but to be impressed. Obviously, his flying skills were excellent if Madame Lambert would ask James to assist her with the lesson. She smiled a little thinking about how wonderful someone like James would be with children. "Okay," she finally agreed.

James landed lightly and, in unison, they climbed off the broom. He took Lily by the shoulders and arranged her in front of him. He then took the broom and laid it on the ground on her right side. "Now," he said, in a commanding tone. "Place your right hand over the broom and say, up."

"Up," Lily said, with her hand over the broom. Instantly, she was rewarded with the broom zooming up to meet her hand. James grinned at her in encouragement, and she said, "Will it be that easy with all brooms or is your broom especially eager because it can sense how you feel toward me?"

Ruffling his hair in embarrassment, he said, "I don't know. Now, mount the broom, keeping your feet firmly on the ground." Lily did as told, and he continued, "Now, with your toes, push off lightly from the ground and hover."

Nervously, Lily did as he asked and she felt the broom smoothly rise up and hover. With excitement shining in her green eyes, she looked at James and said, "I did it!"

He grinned excitedly back at her and said, "Wonderful job, Lily. Now, lean forward and let the broom rise a bit more. The broom will respond to the commands your hands and body give. If you lean to the right, it will turn right; if you lean to the left, it will turn left. If you lean forward, it will go faster. Try it."

"How do I make it stop?" Lily asked.

"If you sit upright and stay still, the broom will stop and hover," James explained. "And if you want to go back down to the ground, arch your back a bit as if you are preparing to stand from your seated position and the broom will understand."

Lily flew a wobbly circle around the pitch before letting the nerves fall away and trying another loop which was considerably more successful. James watched as she continued flying loops around the pitch growing steadily with speed, height, and, obviously, with confidence. He was feeling rather pleased with himself when she landed softly in front of him and said, "Get on, Potter. I'll give you a ride." Grinning, he climbed on behind her, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist and pulling her closer to him. As she took off again, gathering height and speed quickly; he shifted slightly to the right, letting her long red hair stream out over his left shoulder. For the next hour, Lily flew while James enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

From the astronomy tower, Dumbledore watched Lily and James fly around the castle on James' broom. He was happy to see that Lily had forgiven him for kissing Sonya but he knew that there was still a long way to go. They appeared to be fast becoming friends and that was an excellent start, but he knew that Lily, at least, was not convinced that her feelings toward James were romantic. She saw him as a friend and, sometimes, a bit more, but he was going to have to keep working if he wanted a full-fledged romance to blossom. For the moment, he was content to keep an eye on them and watch where their friendship took them, but if things didn't continue to move in the right direction, he'd have to employ more plans and schemes. A smile graced his lips as he admired the absolutely exuberant expression on James' face. They really were a lovely couple, he admitted to himself as he turned away from the telescope.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Eventually, Lily grew tired of flying and brought them in for a landing beside a lake far from the castle. James stretched and settled on a large rock on the shore. Lily settled beside him and said, "Thank you, you're a great teacher."

"Did you have fun?" James asked hopefully.

"I did," Lily said, sounding a bit surprised. "Did you have fun?"

"Of course," James said happily.

"Aren't you disappointed that you're missing the party going on back in the common room? I mean, that was a great match and you are the captain," Lily said.

"No. I've been to lots of Quidditch victory parties. Today, I got to spend time doing something I've been hoping to do for a long time. It was much better than a silly party," James said.

Lily blushed and said, "That's sweet."

They sat quietly for a while, just enjoying the silence together. James inched his hand toward Lily's and, when he reached it, took it into his own. She glanced down at their clasped hands and smiled softly.

"As long as it takes," James said suddenly.

"What?" Lily asked.

"As long as it takes," he repeated. "That is how long I'll wait for you to decide that you're ready."

"Ready for what?" Lily asked, even though she was sure that she already knew.

"Ready to be together," James said. As he saw her prepare to protest, he held up a hand and said, "Right now we are just friends, I know. But there is a hint of something else there. I can wait until you're ready."

"What if I'm never ready?" Lily asked.

"You will be," James said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Lily asked.

"We are supposed to be together, can't you feel it?" James asked. "All I have to do, is look at you and I know." Lily appeared to be at a loss for words, so he continued. "You don't have to say anything. When you can tell me that you feel it too, then I'll know that you're ready for us. Until that day, I'm happy just to have you as a friend and, sometimes, something more."

Lily sat quietly, absorbing his words. Outwardly, she was trying to maintain some distance and a measure of calm, but inwardly, her mind was racing and her heart was beating so hard she wondered if he could hear it. He was right, while part of her was over the moon at his words, a bigger part of her still had doubts and she wasn't ready yet. After all, he was James Potter. He could have any girl in the school and, if half the rumors that flew around the school could be trusted, he had. Why would he want her? Was this a line he used on all the girls? What if she gave in and, a few weeks later, she found herself heartbroken and alone? She couldn't afford to give in to his charm. Then she thought back to the kisses they'd shared and all logic flew out the window.

James watched as emotion after emotion flickered across Lily's face. He hoped that what he had said had made some impression. "Ready to go back?" he finally asked.

"Oh, yes," Lily replied, startled out of her thoughts by his question.

"Do you want to fly?" James asked.

"No, you fly this time, I want to experience how you fly," Lily said. She climbed onto the broom behind him and threw her arms around him. She squeezed him tightly and whispered into his ear, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," James said, as he pushed off the ground and flew back toward Hogwarts.

During the ride back, James elicited several screams out of Lily, as he demonstrated some of his most advanced flying maneuvers. As he landed back at the Quidditch pitch, he chuckled at just how tightly Lily was clinging to him. When she let go and they climbed off the broom, they stood just looking at each other for a moment. Awkwardly, James turned to return his broom to the locker room, but Lily grabbed his hand and stopped him. "Just…," Lily said clumsily. James raised his eyebrows and waited for her to continued. Finally she stepped toward him and said, "Just, kiss me."

Needing no further invitation, he dropped his broom and closed the gap between them. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her. His heart hammered in his chest as he felt her kissing him back urgently.

"Lily?" a voice called from across the pitch. Lily sprang away from James and squinted across the pitch, which had become dark in twilight hours.

"Alice?" Lily called back, as the figure grew nearer.

"I was starting to wonder if you James had kidnapped you," Alice teased.

"No," Lily said, as her eyes connected with James and she silently apologized for the interruption.

"I better put this away," James said, gesturing to his broom. "Lily, thank you for the wonderful time. We'll do it again sometime?"

"Yes," Lily said. "Definitely." Reluctantly, she turned away from James and headed back to the castle with Alice. As Alice began telling her about her afternoon with Frank, Lily's mind returned to her afternoon with James, and she wondered if he wasn't right, maybe they did belong together.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading!! If you are so inclined, leave me a review. Also, if you have any brilliant ideas for this story, be sure to pass them along – I'm usually pretty good an incorporating reader ideas. Thanks!

Lots of thanks, as usual, to my beta Terra Ferme for editing this chapter. It always amazes me how quickly you get back to me. Thank you!!!!


	8. So Close, Yet So Far

The cooler spring air was finally giving way to warmer weather, hinting at the coming summer. Lily found herself spending more and more time with James as the end of the school year approached. She was surprised to realize just how much she was going to miss James when they each returned to their respective homes when term ended. She still hadn't agreed to date him, but she was closer to giving him a chance than she had ever been before. She was impressed with the changes she could see in him. It was obvious to her that he was really trying to live up to what she expected of him. At the same time, his spirit of fun and adventure were still shining through and playing a big part in winning her over.

Currently they were sitting beside the lake under a tree studying for finals. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and they were taking advantage of the time they had to spend together. Tonight was the full moon and James would be busy keeping Remus restrained instead of spending time with Lily.

"Name three ways a werewolf differs from a regular wolf," Lily quizzed.

"One, he sleeps in the same dorm room as me. Two, he gets a _bit_ moody around the full moon and three, he recently recounted a very interesting conversation he overhead between two ladies during the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw quidditch match." James said. Knowing that wasn't exactly what she was looking for, he launched into another topic of conversation. "How about instead, I name three reasons why you should go on a date with me."

"James," Lily scolded, while trying to hide the grin stretching across her face. More and more, the ways he was _always_ flirting with her excited her instead of irritated her. "I was asking about werewolves in general, not the specific one you're acquainted with." After she'd given herself another moment to let his words sink in, she asked desperately, "What conversation _did_ Remus overhear at the match?"

"One that outlined the differences between how I drive you good crazy or bad crazy," James teased.

"Oh Merlin," Lily whispered as she buried her flaming face in her hands. "I hadn't realized he was listening to all that."

"Why are you embarrassed?" James asked as he tried to pry her hands away from her face.

"I didn't want you to know that you have the ability drive me good crazy," Lily pouted. "It just encourages you."

"Lily," James said smoothly, "don't you think I already knew to some extent that I could drive you good crazy and not just bad crazy?"

"I hoped not," Lily said. "Can we get back to studying now?"

"Yes, I was about to name three reasons you should go on a date with me," James said, grinning hugely at her.

"James," Lily sighed, "can't you ever just be serious?" Realizing what she'd said, she quickly added, "And no, I didn't mean your best friend."

He shrugged and grinned at her, then, without skipping a beat, continued; "If you agreed to go on a date with me, I could probably make good on our little bargain and tell you how we help Remus. You know you want to know before tonight."

"I'll have to think about it," Lily said non-committally, as she flicked her eyes back down to her notes to find another question to quiz him on.

He slid his hand across the blanket they were sitting on and interlocked his fingers with hers. She glanced down and then smiled broadly at him. "You know," she said, "flirting with me and holding my hand isn't going to get you out of studying."

"Damn," James swore, "I was hoping I could talk you into going for a broomstick ride with me."

"We have to study, James," Lily said persistently.

"Classes and studying take all the fun out of school," James said morosely.

"If there were no classes, what would be the point of all this?" Lily said, as she gestured back toward the castle.

"This," James said quietly, as he took a chance and kissed her. Usually she was quick to push him away if she thought they might be seen, but this time he was pleasantly surprised to feel her kissing back. When he finally felt her pushing away against his chest, he regretfully broke the kiss and looked down at her. He was surprised to see a look of fury on Lily's face, but quickly he realized she wasn't looking at him, but past him.

"Snape," James hissed, when he glanced over his shoulder. "What the hell does he want?" Severus Snape was lurking near some bushes ten yards away from where they sat, obviously watching them. Lily shook her head and shrugged. Her face had gone brilliantly red and James was unsure if it was out of anger or embarrassment. "What do you want, Snivellus?" James called.

"I need to speak with Lily," Snape called back.

"I have nothing to say to you," Lily yelled in response.

"Please, Lily. It's really important," Snape called, as he started walking toward them.

When he reached the edge of their blanket, he glared down at James and said, "I'd like to speak with Lily alone."

"Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of him," Lily said.

"Fine, never mind," Snape spat, before stalking off.

When he was well out of earshot, James said, "I've never understood the relationship between you and him. I mean, it doesn't seem like you're friends anymore but you used to be, right?"

"Yeah, I used to be friends with him," Lily confirmed.

"What happened?" James asked.

"He called me a mud-blood, remember? You were there," Lily said. "You don't do that to someone you consider a friend. At least, not if you expect them to continue being your friend."

"Oh," James said sadly, remembering the day she was talking about, "I didn't realize _that_ was the day you stopped being friends. I'm sorry."

"I'm not. He revealed his true colors to me and I don't need friends like that," Lily said.

"Its still hard to lose friends though, no matter what the cause. I'm sorry for any part I played in it," James said.

"Thanks," Lily said, as she smiled sadly at him, "The truth is that Severus and I come from the same place. I met him several years before coming to Hogwarts. He understood what I was and what I could do. Despite what he is to me now, he will always hold a place in my heart for introducing me to the magical world."

"What do you mean you come from the same place?" James asked.

"I met Severus at a playground near my house," Lily said. "My sister, Petunia, and I used to go there to play and that is where I first met him. I assume that he lived nearby as well, but he would never tell me where exactly he lived, so who knows."

"He was the first person to tell you that you were a witch?" James asked.

"Yes. He was spying on me and Petunia and he saw me do something magical," Lily said, "He eventually came over to talk to me and he became one of my best friends. He told me all about Hogwarts and we would dream about attending together when we were old enough. Then we got here and were sorted into different houses. For a long time, we were able to remain friends but then things started to change."

"Now I understand how you could hate me the way you did," James said. "You were friends with him and I did nothing but pick on him. You're right, I was a toe-rag."

"Well," Lily said kindly, "he probably deserved it more than I thought at the time. I know he and his Slytherin friends are guilty of lots of vicious bullying in the corridors now a days. For all I know, it was going on back then too."

"Yeah," James agreed. "But Sirius and I always liked to provoke him."

Lily shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter anymore."

"What do you think he wanted?" James asked.

"Every once in a while, he tries to convince me that calling me a mud-blood was a mistake and to take him back as a friend," Lily explained. "But even if he hadn't called me that, I'm not sure we would still be friends. I have my suspicions about him and I just can't be friends with someone like that."

"You think he's a Death Eater, you mean?" James asked.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise as she asked, "You think so too?"

"Yeah," James said. "Based on who his friends are and some of the rumors we've heard about them. Not to mention that we've seen them sneaking out late at night to meet someone."

"Where? In the forest?" Lily asked.

"There or somewhere in Hogsmeade," James said.

The conversation probably would have gone on longer but a young Hufflepuff student appeared with a note for James to report immediately to Headmaster Dumbledore's office. James looked puzzled as he reread the note and said to Lily, "I have no idea what I might have done. Usually I know exactly why I'm being summoned. You'll be okay if I leave you here alone?"

Lily gave him a scandalized look before saying, "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Even if Snape comes back?" James asked.

"Severus won't hurt me," Lily assured him. "Go, I'll see you in a little while."

James bent to kiss her on the cheek before gathering his bag and jogging back toward the castle. What neither realized was that there were two different parties watching their farewell scene. Severus had moved out of sight but had still been watching for his chance to speak to Lily on his own. Sirius, on the other hand, had just been coming down from the castle to sit with James and Lily by the lake. He watched interestedly as James jogged toward him and Severus moved toward Lily.

"Snivellus alert," Sirius said as James approached and he pointed back toward Lily.

Scowling, James turned to look and said, "I'm supposed to be meeting with Dumbledore. Can you go keep an eye on the situation? Maybe try to stay inconspicuous; I'd like to know what he needs to say to her so badly."

"You got it, Prongs," Sirius said, as he ran down the hill. He slowed his gait and quietly crouched behind some bushes near the tree where Lily sat.

"What do you want?" Lily asked coldly.

"I'm concerned about who you're calling your friends these days," Severus said.

"I can say the same about you," Lily retorted.

"I told you before, my friends are none of your concern and neither are they dangerous," Snape said.

"Why would you think my friends are any of _your_ concern?" Lily asked.

"I have reason to believe that one of your _boyfriend's_ friends is a werewolf," Severus said, "I don't have to explain to you how dangerous that is."

Lily laughed and asked, "That is the most preposterous thing I've ever heard. First of all, James isn't my boyfriend. Second, I'm sure Sirius isn't a werewolf…"

Snape cut across her saying, "I didn't say it was Black. No, I'm talking about Lupin."

"Preposterous," Lily repeated. "I would have guessed Black before Lupin."

From his hiding spot, Sirius grinned at her cunning. She was doing all she could to disprove Snape and confuse him and he could have kissed her for it himself.

"Why is it so preposterous?" Snape asked roughly, "He always looks terrible around the full moon and even disappears for a day or two. All the signs point to it."

"Please," Lily scoffed. "Do you really think Dumbledore would willing let a werewolf attend school here? That would be extremely dangerous. I'm sure you must be wrong."

"Fine," Snape said. "Don't believe me. I know that Potter and the rest of his friends know and are helping him to get away from the school during his transformations."

"You really think James, Sirius, and Peter have any sort of defenses that can stand up against a werewolf?" Lily asked incredulously. "Sounds like you're making up stories because you don't like that I've become friends with them. Either that or you've hit the firewhiskey too many times with _your _friends."

"Fine!" Snape shouted. "Fine! Don't believe me! But don't say that I didn't warn you. I was just trying to keep you from harm. I'm going to get to the bottom of this and report it all to Dumbledore."

"Be my guest," Lily said, as she returned to her notes.

Snape blew out an exasperated breath and stormed off. Lily kept up her charade of cool and aloof until she could no longer see Snape. Then she set her notes aside and nervously wrung her hands. Snape was very persistent when he wanted to be and she believed that if he wanted to find out the truth about Remus being a werewolf, he wouldn't rest until he had done just that. Should she tell James and the others about her conversation or would James just take that as a personal invitation to torment Severus some more?

Sirius settled beside her on the blanket then and said, "I overheard your conversation. Thank you for covering for Remus like that."

Lily jumped, startled by his sudden appearance, and said, "Well, despite not knowing how the three of you keep Remus under control during the full moon, I believe James when he says that I don't need to worry about it."

"I know that James was hoping that you'd agree to a date with him in return for learning our secret, but after your little performance just now, I think you deserve to know whether you agree to a date or not," Sirius said.

"Yeah?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, "Can I trust that you will keep this to yourself?"

"Of course," Lily said.

"Even if it is really dangerous and illegal?" Sirius asked.

"Is it really dangerous and illegal?" Lily asked.

"Kind of," he replied focusing his gaze on her.

"I promise," Lily said, "Even if it is really dangerous and illegal, I know you are doing it to help your friend. I can respect that."

Just as Sirius was about to tell her, James flopped down beside them on the blanket and asked, "What did I miss?"

"I was just about to spill our biggest secret to Lily," Sirius said.

"What?" James said. "Did she finally agree to go on a date with me?"

"No," Sirius said, "but you should have seen the performance she put on for Snape's benefit. He has come to the conclusion that Remus is a werewolf and somehow, the three of us are helping him get away from the castle once a month. She really and truly earned the right to know. She was protecting a secret that she doesn't even have all the information on." For the next several minutes, Sirius recounted the conversation for James' benefit. By the end, James was laughing too hard to comment.

"Lily," James said a minute later, still chuckling, "you must be spending too much time with me if you can be that deceptive."

"Shut up," Lily said grinning.

"Do you mind if I tell her?" James asked Sirius.

Understanding why James would want to tell Lily himself, he rose from the blanket and took off in the direction he saw Snape go.

"Lily," James said, "if I tell you this secret, you have to understand that it isn't just my secret; its Sirius' and Peter's secret too."

"I know," Lily said, "I won't tell anyone. I promise. But before you tell me, I have to ask you something."

"Sure," James said.

"James, will you go on a date with me?" Lily asked.

"Really?" James asked ecstatically.

"Really," Lily said with a blush.

"You aren't just asking me because I'm about to tell you our secret, are you?" James said.

"No, I really want to," Lily said.

"Really?" James asked again.

"James," Lily said warningly.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Just kiss me," Lily commanded.

Several minutes later, Lily pulled away and said, "Okay, tell me."

"Tell you what?" James asked, dazed.

"The secret," Lily said with a giggle.

"Oh right," James said. He blew out a breath and said, "It took us the better part of three years to figure out how to do it but we became unregistered Animagi. I can transform into a stag and Sirius can transform into a dog and Peter a rat. Sirius and I become large enough animals that we can keep Remus in line while he is in his werewolf form."

Lily appeared to be too much in shock to respond, so James continued, "Peter needed a lot of help to manage the spell. A rat was the best he could do, but he has one of the most important jobs. The Whomping Willow was planted the year that we all started school. See, there is a tunnel under the tree that leads right to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. Every full moon, Peter transforms into a rat and pushes a knot on the tree that freezes the branches. We all slide into the tunnel under the tree and accompany Remus to the Shack and make sure that he stays there until he transforms back. When we're animals, Remus can't hurt us and I think our presence actually helps him retain some of his sanity."

When she finally managed to respond, James was surprised by what came out of Lily's mouth. He expected her to berate him about how reckless and dangerous what they had done was, but instead she simply asked, "Will you show me?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sirius easily caught up with Snape who was moodily chucking rocks into the lake. "So, Snivellus, you think Remus is a werewolf, hey?" Snape whirled around so fast it was comical and Sirius had to resist the urge to laugh out loud.

"Eavesdropping, were you?" Snape replied, "Yes, I think Remus is a werewolf and somehow, you three are helping him sneak away from the castle during his transformation. I really ought to turn the whole lot of you into Dumbledore."

"I suppose you need to be sure first, get some proof," Sirius said.

"Exactly," Snape said.

"Well, if you go to the Shrieking Shack tonight, you can find out one way or another if your hunch is accurate," Sirius said.

"What is that? Some kind of joke? You think you can lure me away from the real place by suggesting some place that you would so obviously not go?" Snape said.

"You'll just have to find out for yourself," Sirius said with a malicious smirk. "I'll make it even easier for you. There is a tunnel under the Whomping Willow that leads directly into the Shrieking Shack."

"How am I supposed to get into the tunnel without being killed?" Snape asked suspiciously.

"There is a knot on the tree near the base of the trunk. If you push it, all the limbs will freeze so you can climb into the tunnel," Sirius explained.

"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" Snape asked.

"I guess you'll just have to take your chances," Sirius said with a grin.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

That evening, Lily was studying with Alice in the common room. For once, her mind wasn't entirely focused on her studies though. She was thinking over her delightful afternoon with James. She couldn't believe that she had finally agreed to go out on a date with him. She also couldn't believe that it had taken her so long to get to this point. Had she realized how deliriously happy it would make her to date him, she might have caved a long time ago. She was reasonably sure she had never been this happy before. Alice kept stealing glances at her from across the table with a slightly worried expression on her face.

"What?" Lily finally asked.

"You are just acting very un-Lilyish. Its starting to concern me," Alice said.

"I'm acting just like any other girl with a boyfriend does," Lily said peevishly.

"I know, that's the part that concerns me. You don't usually act like other girls," Alice said.

"Thanks a lot, Alice," Lily said, as she threw an eraser across the table at her friend.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," Alice said. "You're typically so sensible and down to earth. Tonight, your head is so far up in the clouds that I'm going to need a knife to scrape you off the ceiling later."

Lily had the good grace to blush before saying, "So what? It feels good to be this happy."

Alice grinned at her and then gestured to a very white-faced James who had just clamored through the portrait hole. He gestured for Lily to join him and she quickly followed him back out into the corridor.

"Aren't you supposed to be away for many more hours yet?" Lily asked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you." As she took in his disheveled appearance, she noticed the rip in his shirt and the dried blood oozing out of several long cuts on his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Something went wrong," James said hurriedly. "I wanted to make sure you hear about it from me instead of someone else."

Lily paled considerably and asked, "You're hurt, is everyone okay?"

"Snape got roughed up a bit, but he's fine," James reported.

"Severus?" Lily asked. "What was he doing there? What do you mean he got roughed up?"

"Well, Sirius thought it would be funny to play a little trick on Snape. He told him that if he really wanted to find out the truth about Remus, he should go to the Shrieking Shack tonight. He also told him about the tunnel under the willow. Just before we were about to set off to meet Remus at the Shack, Sirius started bragging about the great prank he'd pulled on Snape. I ran ahead and barely managed to catch up with Snape before he reached the Shack. Had he gone in, Remus would have attacked him," Jams explained.

"How did Severus get roughed up then?" Lily asked.

"When I caught up with him and tried to get him to turn around, he thought I was just trying to protect Remus' secret. He didn't believe that I was trying to stop him from being attacked," James explained.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Lily asked. "I'm sure Severus didn't do that."

"Well, Remus could smell us in the tunnel and was trying to get at us," James said. "I only caught Snape just before he would have entered the Shack. He must have just seen Remus in his werewolf form because he fainted as I came up behind him. I had to transform into the stag and Remus attacked me because I was between him and what he thought was his next greasy meal. He kept trying to get to Snape in the tunnel. I finally kicked Remus far enough away so I could get Snape's body out of the tunnel. Luckily, Peter and Sirius arrived and Sirius kept him busy so I could leave with Snape on my back. Peter had transformed back to himself to throw Snape onto me then transformed back to help Sirius. I got back to the entrance and transformed back to myself and pulled Snape out of the tunnel. He came around as I got him to the front doors. He shoved me away and pulled his wand out. Luckily, Dumbledore came out just then and stopped us from dueling. Snape started yelling about Remus until Dumbledore silenced him. Dumbledore explained everything about the Whomping Willow and the Shrieking Shack and made Snape promise to never reveal the truth. Dumbledore then sent us to visit Madame Pomfrey to get patched up. Since I hadn't fainted, she released me right away, but she's keeping Snape over night for observation," he finished.

Lily looked at him appraisingly and asked coldly, "What were you thinking?"

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"You heard that Snape was asking questions so you and Sirius decided to lure him to the Shack?" Lily spat, "I know that you're unhappy that I used to be friends with him but I agreed to go on a date with you. You didn't have to set him up like that. What if Remus had bitten him? Did you even stop to consider the consequences?"

James gaped at her for a minute before managing, "I didn't say a thing to him. Sirius did this, not me. Why would I do that? I didn't lure him there to get hurt; I saved his life."

"Hmmmm, let's see. You and Snape have been rivals since the first day of first year. Do you really expect me to believe that you've grown up enough that you'd let an opportunity to best him like this pass by?" Lily yelled.

"Lily," James said angrily, "I can't believe you would think me possible of something like this. I know how you feel about him and I wouldn't have put him in that kind of danger. If you think I did this, then you really don't know me at all."

"I guess not," Lily agreed. "You can forget about that date. I don't know what I was thinking, agreeing to it."

"Fine by me," James shouted back. "I wouldn't date someone who thinks me capable of something so devious."

"Fine," Lily yelled before turning back to the portrait of the fat lady and roughly saying, "Hungarian Horntail." She climbed through the portrait hole and slammed it shut behind her.

"Really," the fat lady muttered.

James stood, rooted to the spot, staring after her. How could this have happened? How could she possibly believe him capable of something like this? He loved a good prank, but wouldn't ever dream of pulling one that could actually hurt someone. He had to get Sirius to talk to Lily. He would explain that the whole plan had been his idea, that he had nothing to do with it. He had risked his own life to save Snape and Lily thought he'd been in on the prank, what a nightmare.

As he trudged back to the entrance hall to return to the Shrieking Shack to help Sirius and Peter with Remus, he thought about how he was going to fix this mess. Earlier, Lily had agreed to go on a date with him and now, she was back to hating him, thinking him capable of trying to kill her ex-best friend. He sighed sadly and had to ask himself if Lily Evans was really worth all of this trouble.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! If you are so inclined, send me a review. Let me know how I'm doing or if you have any ideas for me.

Lots of thanks to my awesome beta Terra Ferme. Thank you for catching all my silly mistakes and for always having the best ideas to improve upon my stories. Everyone reading this owes you big for making the action parts of the story so much better than if they had come only from me. Thank you, thank you – you rock.

We are getting closer and closer to James and Lily actually getting together – I _will_ get them together, no worries. But there are still a few tricks up my sleeve.

Fair warning ~ my real life is going to interrupt my writing for a bit. I am a freelance designer and have been commissioned to work on page layout design on a book. Between that and my regular job it is going to keep me out of commission as far as writing goes for a bit. I am hoping that my regular job is a bit slow and I'll have time to work on writing at my desk…but we'll see what happens. I just wanted you all to know that I'm not abandoning the story; I will be back. I promise!


	9. Forgiveness

James resisted the urge to slam the castle's heavy front door shut behind him. He strode quickly across the lawn to shield himself behind some bushes before transforming back into the stag. Initially, he'd been hurt that Lily would really believe him capable of such a thing, but as he made his way out onto the grounds, his hurt quickly grew into anger. He was angry with Lily for not believing in him. He was angry with Sirius for getting him into this mess. He was angry with Snivellus for being a nosy git and showing up in the first place. But mostly, he was angry with himself for ever thinking he could get Lily to see him in a new light. Once transformed into the stag, he ran swiftly toward the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade to help Sirius and Peter with Remus. He let the filter of his animagus persona dull the edges of his emotion and let the fight with Lily fade into the back of his consciousness.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

_Dear James,_

_It only took me until I reached my dorm room to realize what a massive mistake I had made. My only defense is that in six-long years my habit of assuming that you are perpetually at fault has never failed me before. Despite my changing feelings for you, when faced with a prank, my instinct is still to implicate you first and ask questions later. I am embarrassed that I failed to remember the ways in which you've changed recently and to give you the benefit of the doubt. If I was you, I'd be furious with me and my utter lack of faith in you._

_What I'm trying to say is that I'm very sorry that I didn't believe you when you told me that you weren't behind this prank. I hope you can forgive me._

_I wanted to try and catch you out on the grounds to apologize in person, but when, from my window, I watched you duck behind a bush as James and reappear as a magnificent stag, I knew I was too late. Writing this letter seemed the next best option. Hopefully you will find it when you return and I will be forgiven._

_I really and truly am sorry._

_Always,_

_Lily_

Lily reread her letter to James twice and hoped it struck the right balance between sincerity and groveling. She knew that she'd messed up. James would not have come to her so willingly to confess what had happened to Snape had he been involved in planning the prank. She folded the letter and slid it into the envelope she'd already written his name on. A quick glance at her watch told her it was well after midnight. Sending the letter with a school owl was out of the question, at this hour, they all were bound to be off hunting. Secure in the knowledge that James and his three roommates were away from their dorm room, Lily decided she'd sneak into their room and leave the letter on his pillow where he would be sure to find it when they returned from their mission.

The common room was dark and empty as she stealthily crossed it. At the foot of the boys' staircase, she looked warily up at the stone stairs. She knew that the girls' staircase turned into a steep slide if any boy tried to ascend it; she wasn't sure if the boys' staircase was designed in the same manner. She placed her foot on the bottom stair experimentally and waited. When nothing happened, she climbed up a few stairs and waited again. Apparently girls were trusted not to try get into boys' dorm rooms. She climbed until she found the door, above which, in golden letters read, 'sixth years.' Lily silently twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. She quietly closed the door behind her and, with her wand, lit the candle in a bracket by the door. It cast enough light that she was able to look around and try to determine which bed belonged to James.

The room was not as messy as she had feared it would be, but it was by no means neat. She knew that the house elves only cleaned the dorm rooms once a week, but she couldn't fathom how this much mess could occur in just a matter of days. Three of the beds in the room had a radius of debris that surrounded it. She could tell instantly that the fourth bed, which was made up neatly and had a tidy stack of books on the nightstand, belonged to Remus. The bed across the room from Remus' had heaps of clothing strewn around the bed and a mirror propped up on the night-stand along with a comb and some sort of hair styling product; Sirius' no doubt. The bed next to Sirius' had a pile of dirty clothing stacked up near the foot and another pile of Quidditch gear spilling out from under the bed. Lily guessed this bed belonged to James since the last bed across the room mostly had balled up parchment and crumbs littering the floor around it, but she wanted to be certain. She edged closer and picked up a framed picture from the nightstand. She pointed her wand at it and whispered, "Lumos." The light illuminated an older couple who were clearly James' parents; he had the same messy black hair as his father and his mother's beaming smile. She smiled down at the picture before replacing it on the nightstand. As she set it back down, she noticed a picture sticking out of a textbook as if it was being used as a bookmark. Curious, she picked up the book and let it fall open where the bookmark was holding his place. The subject of the picture surprised her. She'd expected it to be a picture of James and his friends or another of his parents but it was a picture of her. Clearly unaware that the picture was being taken, she was sitting beneath a tree by the lake reading a book. Occasionally she would brush her hair back from her face before smiling and waving at someone outside the bounds of the photo. It made her oddly happy to discover his photo of her. As she continued to look at it, she settled herself on the edge of his bed.

"I'm sitting on his bed," her teen-aged, hormonal brain said loudly. She rolled her eyes at herself before giving the statement any more thought. While she and James had only kissed, it didn't mean that her mind hadn't wandered through scenes inside her head in which other things had happened. She'd be lying if she said she didn't have those sorts of urges. "I'm in James' bed," her subconscious said, trying again to get her attention. "So what," she shot back, "it's not like he's here," she whispered loudly to the empty room. Lily returned her photo to the book and placed it on the nightstand. Letting her hormonal teen-aged brain get the best of her, she stretched out across his bed and buried her face in his pillow. As the scent that she'd come to associate with James filled her head, she thought, "Merlin, I'm pathetic." She'd only just decided that maybe she liked him a bit; she couldn't actually be falling for him. Scolding herself for getting carried away, she rose from the bed and left the envelope bearing his name on his pillow. As she turned to leave the room, she spotted the tee shirt he'd been wearing earlier that day at the end of the bed. Without thinking, she picked it up and took it with her.

Back in her own dorm, she changed into pajama bottoms and pulled on his tee shirt over them. As she climbed into bed and his scent wafted around her, partially soothing and partially alluring, she knew that her dreams would be full of James tonight.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

As they trudged back up to the castle in their human forms, James couldn't remember a full moon that had seemed longer. Normally, he looked forward to and enjoyed the freedom that his animagi persona afforded him. Tonight, it had been nice to dull the edges of his anger by being his stag-self; but it hadn't been enough to erase his fight with Lily completely from his mind. He was still angry, but he was also worried what would happen if he and Lily couldn't move past this misunderstanding. Despite how upset he was with her right now, his feelings for her remained the same. He wanted her.

It was around four on Sunday morning, much too early to try and speak with Lily. He supposed sleep would have to suffice. The three of them silently shucked off clothing, pulled on pajamas and collapsed into bed. Peter's snores filled the room almost instantly. Sirius muttered 'silencio' from his bed and rolled over. James removed his glasses and let his head sink into his pillow which crinkled oddly beneath him. Sitting up, he prodded the pillow with his hand and realized it was an envelope he'd felt. He shoved his glasses back on and after drawing the curtains around his bed, lit his wand and tore open the envelope.

As he read it, a grin stretched across his face, Lily had realized that he hadn't played the role she thought he had. He read through the letter twice more and while still happy that she was no longer angry with him, he was slightly annoyed that her old habits and beliefs were still in tact. After all, if he could learn to stop pulling pranks and causing mischief then why couldn't she learn to not accuse him at every turn? Maybe she deserved a little punishment to teach her a lesson. Maybe he wouldn't be so quick to forgive her, make her suffer a little and then maybe next time she would remember not to accuse him so quickly. He thought about ways in which he could drive her crazy tomorrow while with holding his forgiveness. Eventually his thoughts came to rest on the fact that Lily had broken a rule to deliver this letter to his dorm room. Girls weren't supposed to be in the boys' dorms and vice versa. How very devious of her; she must have felt very strongly about apologizing as soon as possible. It _almost_ made him feel a little bit guilty about how he planned to torture her tomorrow, but not guilty enough to change his plans. "Lily was in my dorm," his subconscious practically moaned. How many times had he imagined having her in his dorm room, in his bed? His lusty teenage boy brain turned the possibilities of Lily in his dorm room over in his mind until he fell into a Lily-filled dream of deepest sleep.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

The next morning, James, Sirius and Peter slept in until nearly lunchtime. One of the nice things about the full moon falling on a weekend was that it made it so much easier to catch back up on sleep. As they dressed to head down to the Great Hall for food, James recounted to his friends his fight with Lily, the letter from her, and his plans to torture her a bit before forgiving her.

"Why would you want to make her suffer?" Peter asked. "I thought you were trying to get her to fall for you."

"I am," James said. "This is just a bit of payback. Besides, she made me suffer for the last six years. Maybe she won't take this thing between us for granted if she has to work for it a little bit."

"This is either going to be the best prank you've ever pulled on Lily or it's going to blow up spectacularly in your face," Sirius said with a grin, "either way I want a front row seat."

As the trio descended the stairs to the common room, James could see Lily sitting at a table studying and probably waiting for him to come and speak to her. He averted his eyes and launched into a conversation about the upcoming summer holidays with Sirius. As they moved toward the portrait hole, he watched Lily out of the corner of his eye and saw her quickly rising from the table to try catch him. He carefully ignored her, even as she called his name as they let the portrait slam shut behind them.

"That was harsh James," Peter said.

"I know," James said. "But I have a plan. Quick, let's take the shortcut down to the Great Hall before she catches up with us."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Back in the common room, Lily stood looking at the closed portrait hole in confusion. Had he been avoiding her or had he simply been too busy to notice her? She wasn't sure and, nervous that it was the former, convinced Alice to come down to lunch with her. If he was angry with her and trying to avoid her, she needed an ally. When they reached the Great Hall, it was to find the three boys in deep conversation about their favorite professional Quidditch teams. They appeared to be so deep in conversation that they didn't seem to notice the two girls sit down directly beside them. Despite his preoccupation with his conversation, Lily tried to get his attention uttering a quick, "Hey James." When she got no response and their conversation continued on, Lily and Alice shrugged and began filling their plates with lunch. Lily's heart was sinking; it was beginning to look like he was trying to avoid her. Alice gave her a supportive smile from across the table. Lily smiled back but her heart wasn't in it. She picked at her food and listened to the conversation that James was engaged in just beside her. He felt like he was a million miles way. She'd been about to abandon her plate and go back up to her dorm when James said, "Lily…"

She turned to face him, he'd leaned toward her and his face was mere inches from hers, as if he was going to kiss her. Maybe he really hadn't noticed her up in the common room and been too involved in his conversation to pay her any attention when she'd sat down beside him. She wasn't typically big on public displays of affection, but the relief that washed over her in the knowledge that he wasn't avoiding her made her forget that. Her lips puckered slightly as she moved to close the gap between them.

"Can you pass me the salt?" he finished as he pulled his head back and gestured to the saltshaker near her juice glass.

Lily was frozen in an absurd pucker as her mind tried to wrap itself around exactly what had just happened. She had been about to kiss him and he pulled away and asked for the salt. He was angry with her, he had to be. That or he was messing with her. The James she knew would never turn down a kiss from her. She finally unfroze and sat stiffly upright in her seat. She turned slowly to grab the saltshaker and with shaking hands passed it to James. He took it, muttered, "Thanks," then turned back to his friends and returned to their conversation.

Lily looked across the table at Alice and was meet with an expression that was as confused as she felt. She glanced again at James to see if she had somehow misread the situation but it was obviously apparent that she hadn't. She shot a look at Alice and then quickly rose from the table. She hurried toward the stairs; all she wanted to do was get back to her dorm room as quickly as possible.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

When he heard her rise from the table, he felt a tiny bit guilty, but not guilty enough to stop him from implementing the next part of his plan. He rose from the table as well and followed her. He waited for the perfect moment. As Lily neared the door, she fell into step behind a blonde Ravenclaw girl whose name was Caroline. "Wait," he called and, as expected, Lily turned and, with relief written across her face, stopped to wait for him. He avoided her eyes and called, "Wait, Caroline." The blonde girl turned and smiled hugely at James. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked her out into the entrance hall. He had purposely positioned himself so he wouldn't be able to see Lily as she raced up the stairs toward the Gryffindor common room. He lamely made small talk with Caroline pretending that he wanted to borrow her Charms notes from a lesson last week that he'd skipped.

His friends caught up with him the entrance hall then and together they walked back up to Gryffindor Tower. James was quiet as he thought about his plan. When he'd thought about it last night, he'd thought it would be a laugh to mess with Lily a bit and makes her suffer for not believing him. Now that he was actually in the midst of it, he felt like a jerk. He knew that he was hurting her feelings and that hadn't been his goal. He decided not to carry out the rest of his plans. As they entered the common room, he quickly scanned the faces for Lily's, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. He sighed and sank into an empty armchair by the fire.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Lily had returned to her dorm room hoping to be alone, but once there, she felt claustrophobic. When some of her roommates came in and settled on their beds to chat, Lily quietly gathered her cloak and left. Maybe she could clear her head and get some perspective outside in the fresh air. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw James sitting with his friends by the fire. She edged swiftly around the room toward the portrait hole willing no one to notice her. Luckily, the common room was crowded today and no one seemed to pay her any attention. Outside the portrait hole, she slipped on her cloak and headed for the entrance hall.

As soon as she pulled the front door closed behind her, she understood why there were so many people in the common room today. The weather was not behaving as one would hope for in June. The air was cool and rain was lightly falling. Lily sighed and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. She instinctively moved toward the lake and sat on a large rock near the water. She knew that she'd screwed up last night by not believing James' story, but she just didn't understand what was going on today. She'd written him the letter to apologize and she expected to be forgiven. He had to have found the letter or he would probably be just as furious with her as he was last night when she'd left him in the corridor. Which meant what? That James was messing with her? She was about to think that over some more when he settled beside her on the rock.

"Lily," James said, "We need to talk."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, "we do. I don't understand what's going on today. Did you find my letter?"

"Yeah I did, about that…," James said.

"Good, so I'm forgiven?" Lily cut in.

"Of course Lily," James said. "But…,"

"I'm glad, I felt so bad when it all hit me. I was such an idiot. You deserve much better than that, I'm sorry," Lily said.

"Sirius confirmed the story for you then?" James asked.

"No, I haven't talked to Sirius. I realized that I knew all along that you were innocent. I just hadn't remembered to trust you," Lily said quietly as she slipped her hand into his. "Can you forgive me?"

"Of course, Lily, I understand. Old habits die hard." He ruffled his hair and uncomfortably added, "I, of all people, should understand that."

They were quiet for a minute in which James conjured a large umbrella with his wand and opened it over them and Lily wondered how to ask about why he'd been avoiding her.

"Lily," James said tentatively.

"Yeah," Lily replied.

"You know I really care for you, right?" James asked. When Lily nodded in ascent, he continued, "And you know that I wouldn't purposely try to hurt you, right?" Lily nodded again and James said, "Try to keep that in mind as I confess to you."

"Confess?" Lily asked.

"Last night when you left me in the corridor, I was really upset. I had all night to think about what had happened and I was still upset that you could think I would pull a prank that could physically injure someone. When I got back to my room and found your letter, I was really happy that you'd come to your senses, but I was also annoyed that I'd had to agonize over it all night. Being me, I thought I might pull a prank on you and pretend like I hadn't forgiven you," James said.

"That's what you were doing this morning when you were avoiding me," Lily said in understanding. "I was starting to wonder if you were messing with me."

"Are you going to yell at me?" James asked sheepishly.

"I should," Lily said. "But no. We'll call it even. I should've known better than to think you had something to do with the prank on Severus and you shouldn't have let me think that I wasn't forgiven."

"Wow, Lily," James teased. "This is a first."

"Yeah, well," Lily said, as she bumped her shoulder against his.

"Well, what?" James asked, as he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I kind of deserved it," Lily admitted as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I had planned to keep at it all day to kind of show you how it feels when you are mad and shut me out," James said. "But I could see how much I was hurting your feelings so I quit. I don't want to hurt your feelings."

Distinctly aware of his body pressed close to hers under the umbrella, Lily looked up into his eyes and softly asked, "What _do_ you want to do?"

"Kiss you," was his immediate response.

"Then you should," Lily whispered back.

James smirked at her as his lips descended to meet hers. Her stomach swooped in reaction and a grin to rival his stretched across her face. As he drew closer and finally closed his eyes, Lily said sweetly, "James, can you pass me the salt first?" James' eyes snapped open in surprise. As he struggled to formulate a comeback, Lily smirked. "Never mind, I found it," she said as she pulled out the salt shaker she had conjured behind her back. Deftly, she unscrewed the top and poured the salt over his head before he could fathom what she was up to.

His eyes widened in astonishment and he said, "I can't believe you just did that. You are going to pay for that, Evans."

"You'll have to catch me first," Lily laughed, as she cast the umbrella aside and ran. She knew that the combination of the wet grass and James' natural athletic ability gave her little chance of out running him, but she didn't think she'd mind being caught. As she felt him closing the distance between them she gave a little shriek of anticipation. James' sprang toward her and caught her around the waist, tackling her to the ground. He sprawled on top of her in an effort to keep her pinned to the ground. "You caught me," she panted, "What's my punishment?"

"This," he said huskily, as he leaned down to kiss her. He kissed her lightly at first reminding her of the first time he kissed her in the corridor. Lily tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away and said, "You have no idea how much I love that you broke a rule to deliver that letter last night." Before she had a chance to respond, he brought one hand up to her cheek and kissed her fiercely. When oxygen became immediately necessary, they broke apart and Lily said, "You are a terrible influence on me James Potter. I broke a rule for you and I kind of loved it. I even laid in your bed and stole your tee-shirt." She wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her lips to his. The rain was soaking them but they didn't care. All the kissing they had done before this was polite and respectful. This was needful, hungry kissing and they were giving into it completely. When they broke apart again, James said, "You have no idea what it does to me to hear that."

Actually, given their current position Lily had a pretty good idea what it did to him but she played along, grinned and said, "What? That I laid in your bed?"

James groaned and dropped his face into the space where her neck and shoulder met. "Lily, I've been imagining you in my bed for years. Now you tell me you've been there and I missed it?"

Lily giggled and playfully swatted his arm. "I'll make sure you don't miss it the next time I pay a visit."

James growled and recaptured her lips with his own for just a moment, before saying, "Why Miss Evans, I do believe you are flirting with me."

Blushing slightly, Lily grinned and said, "Well, your prank this morning had one affect that you'll appreciate. I didn't like you ignoring me today and when you went out into the entrance hall with Caroline, I was _so_ jealous."

"Is it fair to say that you're ready for us?" James asked hopefully.

"I might be getting there, but let's not rush things," Lily said. "We haven't even been out on a proper date yet."

"When can I take you out on our first date?" James asked excitedly, as he untangled himself from her and sat up.

"How about this summer?" Lily suggested, as James pulled her into a sitting position beside her.

"I would love that," James replied, as he pulled her closer to his side.

"I'm going to miss you this summer," Lily said. "Will you write to me?"

"Of course," James said beaming.

It began to rain harder then and they decided that it was time to head back into the castle and perhaps take hot baths to warm up. Neither James nor Lily could remember being so happy. It finally seemed as if everything had fallen into place. Albus Dumbledore could not have been happier to watch the young couple kissing out in the rain, but he was not about to abandon his post just yet. Their courtship thus far had been very turbulent and he couldn't trust that their newfound relationship was failsafe. He had a few tricks that could keep them together if he could help it.

"So you stole my tee-shirt?" James asked teasingly, as they neared the common room.

"Yeah," Lily said, "I wore it to bed." She lowered her head and added, with a blush, "It smells like you and I dreamt about you all night. I'll get it back to you later."

"Keep it," James insisted. "I like the idea of you sleeping in my shirt and dreaming of me. Not to mention, now my shirt can say that it has gone where no man has gone before," he added with a smirk.

Changing the subject before he could feel the heat coming off of her face, Lily said, "I saw the picture of me in your book." It was James' turn to blush. He ruffled his hair and seemed at a loss for words, so Lily continued, "It made me wish I had a picture of you."

"I'll send you one with the first letter I send you this summer," James promised.

Lily grinned and pulled him toward the common room. As he watched her smiling at him, he couldn't help but wonder if this moment was real. He had dreamed of Lily Evans for so long and it seemed like she was finally his. He just hoped that he wouldn't do anything to screw it up. There was a long summer looming ahead of them; what if she changed her mind before school resumed again in the fall? He would just have to make sure that wouldn't happen. He would be a faithful pen pal and make sure that he didn't leave her to her own thoughts for too long. He loved Lily with all his heart and it finally seemed possible that someday, maybe still a ways in the future, she might feel the same way for him.

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry for the seriously long wait on this next chapter. Life has been crazy, but hopefully I can update this story consistently again.

Biggest thanks to my wonderful Beta Terra Ferme for editting this chapter and for pushing for James and Lily to have a little bit more fun at the end of the story - it is better this way!

This story is not over yet – far from, I think.

Send me a review; let me know how I'm doing, or if there is anything you'd like to see me work in.

Thanks!

Tinkerbell


	10. Truth or Dare

Lily couldn't believe that the end of year feast was later tonight. It was the first year in memory that she wasn't beyond excited to be returning home. Of course, James was the reason for that. He seemed to be the reason for a lot of things lately. Like, why she was returning home a great deal wiser about a great many things she'd never returned home wiser about before; for example, how absolutely wonderful broom cupboards could be. She had learned that the dark interior left room for accidental touches and brushes that were in no way accidental, but would be excused as such. It was entirely too early to be lying awake in bed considering how late she and James had occupied that broom cupboard on the second floor, but she just couldn't stop thinking about it. She smiled to herself as she recalled some of the details and how it had all come about.

_Lily sat stiffly on the sofa in the common room between James and Alice. The end of exams party was still going on around them, but somehow, in the midst of things__,__ the Marauders had struck up a game of Truth or Dare which Lily, despite her many attempts to escape, had become an unwilling participant of. Already she'd been forced to recall her most embarrassing moment and tell the group at large what color knickers she had on. The problem with playing Truth or Dare with the Marauders was that neither, Truth nor Dare was a good option and they charmed the game so you couldn't back out of your choice. Obviously Dare was the riskier option, but the Truths demanded were always embarrassing. Lily thanked Merlin that she had been smart enough not to pick Dare like Alice. She'd been dared to streak across the lawn while the rest of them watched from a window. Luckily, they were far enough away and it was dark enough that they hadn't been able to see much, but Lily still would have rather died than streak. Her turn came around again and feebly she said, "Truth." Sirius eyed her carefully as he crafted his question. She grew more uncomfortable by the moment, afraid of what she'd be forced to reveal next. _

"_Who was the first boy to take you into a broom cupboard?" Sirius finally asked with suggestively raised eyebrows. _

_Lily wondered if James hadn't put him up to that question, but she nearly sagged with relief anyway. She could see James watching her out of the corner of his eye when she smiled and said, "As I'm not that kind of girl, I've never been into a broom cupboard with a boy."_

"_A girl, then?" Sirius asked hopefully, earning him a swat on the arm from Alice._

"_No one," Lily said firmly. She could see the Marauders exchanging quick glances around the circle and worried about what they might be thinking. As Alice took her turn beside her, she wondered if she should be embarrassed by her lack of experience. It wasn't that she hadn't kissed boys, she had, just not a great many of them and certainly never in a broom cupboard. In her experience, the girls who spent time in broom cupboards with boys were rather on the slaggy side. She sat and worried as the game progressed around the circle. She broke out of her reverie when it was James' turn again. He eagerly chose dare and, with dancing eyes, Remus quickly said, "James, I dare you to take Lily Evans to the broom cupboard on the second floor."_

"_Damn," thought Lily. "They probably had planned this." Her face burned as he captured her hand in his own and dragged her toward the portrait hole. His friends hooted and hollered their approval behind them. As they made their way down to the second floor in silence, Lily's embarrassment began to turn to anticipation. Hadn't she wanted more excuses to snog James? This was a golden opportunity, because of the magical charm on the dare, they couldn't back out of it._

"_You okay?" James asked, as he squeezed her hand a little more tightly._

"_Yes, fine," Lily said quietly. _

"_I'm sorry you got roped into this," James said, trying, but failing, to quite sound remorseful._

"_You __**are**__ not," Lily accused with a chuckle., "I'm sure you've been racking your brain for an excuse to bring me down here."_

_James chucked too and ruffled his hair self-consciously., "You can't prove that. Would it make you angry if it was true though?"_

_Lily stopped walking, moved in front of James, placed her hands on his shoulders, and pushed him backward until his back was against the cool stone wall. On tiptoes, she kissed him hungrily, leaning into his body. She pulled away, her eyes still closed and huskily, she replied, "No, I'm not angry." She opened her eyes and smirked as she watched understanding fill his lovely hazel eyes. To her surprise, he scooped her up and rushed with renewed purpose toward the aforementioned broom cupboard. She laughed with delight and wrapped her arms around his neck. _

_When they reached the broom cupboard, he set her lightly back onto the floor so she could enter of her own free will. He pulled the door open and said, "Ladies first." Lily lit her wand and followed the light it cast into the cramped space. As it was a broom cupboard, it was full of buckets, mops, brooms and other various cleaning supplies. There was barely space left over to squeeze into; that, she supposed was the appeal. If a couple found their way here to snog there was precious little room and no choice but to stand pressed up against one another. Her stomach swooped at the sudden thought of herself and James pressed up against one another. _

_He followed her into the cupboard and pulled the door closed behind him. He cast a charm upon it, ensuring that they wouldn't be interrupted; at least, not immediately. With the door shut, he was maddeningly close. She looked into his eyes, smiled and extinguished her wand, which she hastily tucked it into the pocket of her skirt. Inside the cupboard was true darkness. She could feel how close he was to her in the dark, but couldn't see a single part of him. There was the tiniest sliver of dim light that spilled in from beneath the door, but that was all. _

_Without her sight to guide her, other instincts took over. When she felt his hands take her waist her face tilted up instinctualy and their lips met effortlessly. As the kiss deepened, she felt him pull her ever closer with his hands still upon her hips. When their bodies were pressed as firmly as they could be together his hands slid smoothly lower down on her hips and around to her bottom. As he cupped her bottom in both hands, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let her hands sink into his messy, luxuriant hair, which she'd always longed to touch. Their kisses grew deeper and more urgent as they cautiously explored. Lily could feel his hardness between them and it only urged her forward. She explored his well-muscled back, chest, and arms with her hands, while his hands had moved up from her bottom to stoke her long silky hair. When James' mouth separated from her own, she nearly gave an involuntary groan of protest. Instead, she ended up moaning a little when his mouth moved to her neck and sucked the delicate skin there. She had been unaware how good that could feel. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, giving James access to more skin to tantalize. As his mouth moved along her collarbone, she unbuttoned his shirt as well and gave herself access to his bare chest. She felt him gasp a little at her touch as she traced over his well-defined muscles with her fingertips. Quidditch had clearly done him good. When he separated his mouth from her skin and, panting slightly, said, "Merlin, Lily, you're driving me crazy," she giggled and said, "You're not doing so bad yourself."_

"_Perhaps we should slow down a bit?" James asked considerately._

"_Not just yet," Lily said, disagreeing before she rained kisses along his neck, preparing to tease him in the same manner he'd done to her. As she sucked and nibbled along his collarbone, she felt him un-tucking her shirt from her skirt. His hand moved up her hips until they connected with bare skin beneath her shirt. Her ministrations on his neck halted and she focused all her concentration on his hands. As they crept higher beneath her shirt, sliding over her smooth skin, Lily knew they should stop. She didn't want to, but knew they should. She put her hands on top of his and stilled their journey upward. "We have to stop," she whispered., "No further tonight." James didn't respond verbally, but instead kissed her again. It was a kiss that was both tender and passionate all at once. It was a kiss that told her that he wanted her, badly, but was willing to wait. It was a kiss of love and respect. Lily wasn't sure she'd ever felt as loved in her entire life; she only hoped that her kiss was telling him all the same things. _

_When the kiss finally ended, he hugged her fiercely. When they separated, they straightened and re-buttoned their askew clothing in the silence. Breaking the silence, James said, "You know, you didn't have to go through with this."_

"_Of course I did. Remus dared you, and the game is charmed to ensure that we couldn't back out," Lily reminded him._

"_That's true," James said. "But all Remus dared me to do was bring you down to the second floor broom cupboard. He didn't say anything about going inside or snogging."_

_Lily was dumbfounded, he was absolutely right. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of that herself. Clearly, she'd wanted to snog James more than she'd even guessed to let a detail like that slip past her. She couldn't think of anything to say. Finally she settled on, "Did you plan this?"_

_Without any pause for thought or excuses, he said, "Yeah, I'm sorry Lily. I've been hoping to come here with you, but thought you might be offended if I suggested it. I thought if the opportunity arose in another way you might be more open minded. I'm sorry."_

_Lily was silent for a moment. Part of her was disappointed in him. Wasn't this thing between them different? Special? Why did he have to go and cheapen it by tricking her into this? A slightly larger part of her was slightly amused and completely understood why he would feel the need to go about something like this in an underhanded way. She'd always been a little repressed when it came to boys and dating and was therefore understandably nervous about new things. She had enjoyed herself though, and admittedly had wanted to experience this with him as well, once she got over the initial embarrassment of the whole situation._

"_I'm not angry, James," Lily said softly, taking his face between her hands. "I'm a little disappointed that you thought that tricking me into it was the best plan of attack, but I'm not angry and I'm not sorry. Having never experienced the thrill of snogging in a broom cupboard before, I always saw it as something cheap and scandalous, but you've changed my mind. I've been looking forward to the things that happened between us tonight and if a broom cupboard was our best shot at a little privacy for them to happen, then I'm glad." Having said what she needed to say, she pulled his face down to her own and kissed him heartily again. _

Lily continued to lie in her bed reliving and analyzing the previous night's activities in her head. She wondered if it was reckless to snog like that with a boy she'd never even been out on a proper date with yet. She tried not to let it worry her though. She had known James for six years and lived in the same castle with him for the better part of six years. Somehow, things were changing. There was something extraordinary happening between them and for that reason she felt no guilt or remorse over what had transpired in the broom cupboard. As she lay there she realized that she didn't want to wait several more hours to see him again. The term would be over later today and the next morning they would all be headed back to London on the Hogwart's Express. She would be apart from him for the whole summer; she was not going to deny herself today. She hoped that no one was up this early and sitting down in the common room to catch her. She quietly descended the stairs and smiled happily when she entered the empty common room. She quickly climbed the stairs to the boys' dorms and quietly opened the door for the sixth year boys' dorm. She closed the door behind her and crept to the bed that she knew to be James'. She pulled back the bed hangings and smiled softly over a sleeping James. His hair was as mussed as ever, his dark lashes fanned across his cheeks and his full lips parted slightly. She nudged him gently and whispered, "James, wake up." His eyes fluttered open after a second nudge and he stared up at her in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered before adding, "Are you really here?"

"Yes, move over, I'm getting in with you," Lily said.

James obediently slid over in the bed and held the covers up so she could easily slide in with him. He drew the hangings shut again and cast a few spells on them. When she was snuggly situated against his chest, her head beside his on the pillow, he whispered, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was lying in my bed thinking about last night and how today is the last day before we all go home and I decided that I didn't want to waste any time I could be spending with you," Lily said.

"So you came here to…" James trailed off, not willing to try and interpret what it meant that Lily Evans was in his bed.

"Sleep, in your arms," Lily said. She kissed him softly on the lips and added, "And maybe kiss you a bit."

"Sounds good to me," James sighed happily, as he drew her ever closer into his embrace.

It sounded good to Lily too. As she felt James relaxing back into sleep around her, she thought about how much had changed in the last several months. Four months ago, when they had become partners in class, she had loathed him. Now, she was fairly certain that she was at least a little bit in love with him. She felt like if she concentrated hard enough she could almost see their future stretching out before them. She kissed a sleepy James on the forehead and tried not to think about how few hours they had left. She knew one thing for certain; she was going to miss James like crazy this summer.

**Author's Note:** Hi All – first off thank you for reading and thanks to those of you who have been leaving me reviews – it is VERY much appreciated and it really helps me to gauge how this story is going.

Thank you also to my beta, Terra Ferme, for reading and editing this chapter – you are so quick, it astounds me!

I know it has been a LONG wait for a chapter like this to happen…but we needed them to get here before it could happen. Now that we've made it there, I think there will be a lot more of the romantic fluff like we saw in this chapter.

The story is still far from over and, as always, if you have brilliant ideas for me – share them!

Thanks!

Tink


	11. GoodBye, for Now

The last bit of their time left at Hogwarts passed much too quickly. Before they knew it, they were aboard the Hogwart's Express speeding back toward London. A typical train ride to or from school typically included Lily doing her utmost to avoid James and his advances. This time, Lily didn't want to miss a second of James' company knowing that all too soon she would be away from him for two solid months. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Remus and Sirius watching her and James appraisingly. They were still displaying a fair amount of skepticism that this was actually happening and James hadn't used magic to accomplish it. She could understand their confusion; sometimes, when she took stock of where she was, she couldn't believe it herself. Currently, she was sitting as close to James as she could be without being in his lap. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders and playing with a loose strand of her hair. His other hand held one of hers firmly.

"Prongs," Sirius said suddenly. When he had James' attention, he lobbed a small bag that sounded like it was filled with gold at him. "Your winnings."

Remus scoffed lightly and asked, "You couldn't have picked a more private moment to give him that?"

"What? I didn't want to forget to give it to him," Sirius said feigning innocence.

"Right," Remus muttered. "If you ask me, you're just trying to stir up problems."

"Now, why would I do that?" Sirius shot back.

"Maybe you think it will provide further proof to the depth of Lily's feelings for James," Remus said.

Lily listened to this conversation carefully and weighed her options. Finally, to everyone's astonishment, she casually asked, "So, what was the bet?"

A visibly uncomfortable James quietly said, "We bet every year if this will be the year that I finally win your heart. It seems really callous and stupid now. Someone who didn't know me better might look at the situation and wonder if, in my eyes, we're finally together just so I could win the bet, but I promise you, Lily, that couldn't be further from the truth."

"Maybe a worthy demonstration of your feeling for her would be to return the gold you just won," Sirius suggested slyly. "It would show that you cared for her more than the gold."

Lily laughed out loud at that and said, "Nice try, Sirius. I know he cares for me more than that sack of gold. Giving it back to you will prove nothing to me." Turning to face James more fully, she said, "I'd appreciate not being the subject of your future bets, but I know your feelings are true."

James visibly relaxed and, smiling, asked, "Lily, care to go stretch your legs with me?"

Lily nodded and he led her toward the end of the train where it seemed he knew of some nooks that were perfect for a bit of snogging. When they came up for air, he said, "I'm sorry about the bet. It really was stupid."

"It's fine," Lily replied smiling. "I've come to learn that some boys and their friends can really be prats, but none of what they do is meant to hurt anyone."

"Are you really Lily?" James asked, running a hand up her side as if checking to see if she was an imposter. "I'm pretty sure the Lily I know would have gotten angry and refused to speak to me for at least 24 hours."

Lily laughed and said, "No, I'm really an imposter named Snape."

James looked incredulously at her, but as his brain caught up with what she'd just said he pretended to retch.

Once she had regained her composure enough to speak somewhat coherently, she said, "That's for betting on me."

James shook his head with a grin. "You almost got me that time, Evans," he growled as he pulled her into a tight hug.

Lily sighed and referring back to his earlier question whispered, "Yes, it's really me. We have so little time left until we won't see each other for two months that I'm trying not to wreck it by getting angry about something that doesn't matter."

James kissed her again before saying, "Thank you, Lily."

Lily kissed him and replied. "Just don't forget about the date you promised me for this summer."

"Not a chance," James said. "I need to know that you won't forget about me. I'm afraid that once you're home and have a little space from me, you'll realize that you made a huge mistake."

"The mistake was not giving you a chance earlier," Lily said. "We could have had so much more time together."

"But, Lily! We have all the time in the world; our future is stretched out before us," James said. Lily smiled at his words; it was exactly what she'd thought while lying in his bed with him early this morning. She imagined it again and her smile grew.

She'd asked him a few nights ago but couldn't resist asking again, "You'll write to me this summer?"

"I will be the truest definition of a pen pal," James promised. "Another way I plan to keep you from forgetting about me."

After a bit more snogging and being interrupted by a sharp look from the witch with the food trolley, they returned to their seats for the duration of the trip.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

When the train pulled into King's Cross, James helped Lily get her trunk down from the overhead compartment and, together, they disembarked the train and exited the barrier. Rather than immediately seeking out their parents as they might have normally done, they found some space away from the bustle and traffic. They set their trunks to the side and took a moment to say good-bye. James pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and breathed in his scent. He whispered things in her ear and she felt her eyes prickle with tears. He was being unbearably sweet and making it impossible for her not to miss him insanely this summer. When he sensed that things were getting a bit too serious, he surprised her by dipping her and kissing her heartily. She laughed at him and wiped her eyes. "I see someone who could only be your mother approaching," James whispered. "Good-bye, Lily. I'll miss you."

Lily glanced toward where he was looking and, indeed, it was her mother and Petunia. She straightened up, gave James one last kiss and said, "I'll miss you, too. Good-bye, James."

He gave her a wink as she turned to meet her family. As she walked toward them, she couldn't help but think that she never could have imagined this happening just a few short months ago. It was becoming harder and harder to pretend that she wasn't falling head over heels for him.

Her mother wore an amused smile as Lily approached. She was clearly checking out the boy she had just seen her daughter kissing. Petunia, on the other hand, wore an expression of outright disgust and, when Lily was within earshot, she said, "Don't you have any self respect? Making out in plain view of everyone? Disgusting."

"Leave her alone, Petunia," said Lily's Mother, Jane. "A girl who's in love is allowed to kiss her boyfriend good-bye before a two month absence."

Out of habit, Lily found herself wanting to protest the fact that James was her boyfriend and that she was in love with him. She wasn't actually certain that either statement was true yet, but decided to say nothing.

"Lily in love," Petunia repeated in a mocking tone before laughing cruelly. "Why are you so sure it's love?"

"She has that look in her eyes," Jane explained. "A mother can always tell."

Petunia shot a searching look at Lily, trying to peer into her green eyes, as if trying to see the same thing her mother could see. Not being willing to let Petunia continue in this vein, she turned her head and cast her eyes to the floor. She heard her sister make an irritated noise beside her as they continued out of the station. Lily scanned the crowds one last time before they left looking for James. Their eyes connected and she blushed when her heart gave a happy flutter. He winked at her again and waved.

Once settled in the backseat of the car, Jane asked in a conspiratorial tone, "So, what's his name?"

Deciding not to play coy and pretend that she didn't know what her mother was talking about, even though it was a very tempting thought, Lily said, "James."

"James Potter?" her mother asked incredulously.

Lily's mind whirred, trying to figure out how her Mother knew about him.

"The James Potter who you have complained ceaselessly about every summer you've come home from school?" Jane asked, watching her daughter in the rear view mirror.

"Um, yeah," Lily managed.

"I thought you hated him," Petunia said. "You were always saying he was a git or a prat and talking about the horrible pranks he pulled on you."

"I was right, then," Jane said happily, "He was only pulling those pranks because he liked you."

"Yeah," Lily said feebly, feeling guilty again that she'd only just given him a chance after 6 years. Poor James.

"What made you finally give him a chance?" Jane asked.

"We got paired up in some classes and kind of became friends. Once we were friends, it just happened," Lily explained.

"How long have you been dating?" Petunia asked. Then, turning it into a competition, added, "Vernon and I have been dating for nearly a year now."

"I don't actually know," Lily admitted.

Petunia looked over the front seat at her and rolled her eyes. "Well, when was your first date?"

Knowing that the rest of the conversation would be irritating, Lily quietly admitted, "We haven't actually gone on a real date yet."

"And yet you were making out with him like that? In public!" Petunia asked sharply.

"Well, it's different at Hogwarts. We live in the same castle and eat all our meals together and go to most of our classes together," Lily explained. "There isn't really anywhere to go on a date anyway. Well, there's Hogsmeade but we weren't speaking during the last Hogsmeade visit so we didn't go together. He's going to come take me out on a proper first date sometime this summer."

"Lily and James have probably spent more time together than you and Vernon," Jane said observantly, "when you think about the living situation at a boarding school."

Lily could tell this comment irritated Petunia because she remained silent for the rest of the ride home. Petunia was a rules person; there were rules for everything and, according to her, they should be followed explicitly. Lily had chosen an alternate lifestyle years ago and Petunia could no longer accept her. In her eyes, Lily was a freak and wouldn't even consider the reasons why this lifestyle made her so happy. Sometimes, it made Lily sad that their lives had taken such different courses and that her sister would never be able to bridge the gap with her and be close like they once had been.

For the remainder of the ride home, Jane asked Lily about her classes and duties at school. Lily told her mother about whatever she asked about; punctuated with multiple stories about James, of course. "It sounds like you had a wonderful year," Jane said.

"I did," Lily said. "So good that being home this summer is somewhat bittersweet. While I'm always excited to come be at home, but this year, it's hard too."

"Because you want to be with James," Jane said knowingly.

Lily just nodded and wondered if Petunia and Vernon were as inseparable as she and James had become.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

When they arrived home, Lily ate dinner with her family, recounted a lot of the same stories about her year for her father, helped Petunia with the dishes, and then waited until she didn't feel like it was too early to pretend she was tired and go to bed. She wasn't actually tired; she was just ready to be alone with her thoughts in her room. She flopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She wondered what James was doing. Merlin, she was pathetic. Apparently, she'd finally given into this and now her heart was fully involved. She reached under her pillow and pulled out her diary, which she'd stashed there earlier. She randomly paged through it and read passages that had to do with James. Some made her cringe at how horrible she'd been to him and others made her heart ache because they were so wonderful.

A tapping on her window interrupted her memories and she looked up in surprise to see a large gray owl perched on her windowsill. She opened the window and accepted the letter happily; sure that she knew who it was from:

_My Dearest Lily,_

_I hope you had a safe trip home. I'm already finding that being home is not as much as fun as usual. While I'm happy to be home and not have to go to classes or study for two whole months, I am missing you. My parents saw us together and had a million questions. They couldn't believe that the girl I've been pining over for years finally gave me a chance. They are anxious to meet you. I'm hoping to convince my father to take me to the ministry with him sometime so I can take my apparition test. I missed the test at Hogwarts because I overslept after a long night of ware wolf watch. If I get my license, it'll be easier to come and see you this summer. Even if he won't take me, I __**will**__ figure out a way to see you at least once for our date. What do you want to do on our date? Do you still have my green tee shirt? I can't find it with my stuff. I don't mind if you have it at all. I should end this letter so our owl can deliver it to you before you go to bed. Good night, Lily. Sleep tight and dream of me. I know I will be dreaming of you. _

_All my love,_

_James_

Lily couldn't stop smiling as she pulled out quill and parchment to respond immediately. Before she settled at her desk, she opened the window and, seeing the owl still there, told him to wait because she'd have a reply in a few minutes.

_Dear James,_

_My trip home was interesting. My mum seems very excited and happy for me in regards to you. My older sister Petunia was critical…but she usually is. It's feeling very bittersweet for me to be home as well. I love coming home to see my family, but I miss you as well, so much. I would almost sign up for summer classes if it meant I could see you. Who am I? This is not stuff I could have imagined myself saying a few short months ago. I'm not complaining though. You make me so happy. It'd be great if you could apparate here to see me. I have my apparition license; maybe I should come visit you… Are we going on a muggle date or a wizard date? I do have your green tee shirt; sorry, I didn't remember to get it back to you. Thanks for the letter. I'm sure looking forward to letters from you is going to be what gets me though this summer. _

_Sweet Dreams, James._

_Love Always, _

_Lily._

Each went to sleep that night with smiles on their faces hoping that the summer would not seem too long.

**Author's Note:** Hello, I'm sorry there has been such a delay on this story. Life has been busy and that is the best excuse I can offer. I hope to update more regularly. Let me know if you have ideas for me for their date.

Massive thanks to my beta Terra Ferme for your quick and excellent work on this chapter. Thanks also for the long wait...I know in a different way you have been waiting as long on this chapter as the readers. Thanks for helping me keep some playfullness to this chapter - you rock!

Thanks all.

Tink

Return


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